Photo by Marcel Germain

I was just like you. I blogged for years and made little money. Pennies, not pounds. Cents, not dollars. I enjoyed what I did. I loved the gentle tap of the fingers. I loved the feeling of a new post going live. But I didn’t love the struggle to develop new ideas. The struggle to start a new post. The struggle to survive as a blogger in an ever growing and distant abyss of excellence.

I sat at my desk each day staring in to space while others worked around me. They didn’t like their job. Neither did I. I dreamt about leaving this world of grey. Grey suits. Grey desks. Grey air. Grey life.

Some days I’d write. Other days I’d stare with fright. Sometimes I’d feel motivated and passionate, and other days I felt illiterate.

I cared about my dreams. I wanted out of my dark apartment and I wanted out of the 9 to 5. I wanted out of this black and grey that had encased me. This was my dream…. An impossible dream.

‘Impossible’ isn’t Possible

It was late 2009 when I had a conversation with a friend. He was still in hospital but able to talk. Four weeks before he’d been on his death bed, in an induced coma at the hands of the intensive care nurses. He’d been hit by a lorry. Both legs and two ribs were broke, and his left lung punctured. The paramedics revived him once on the roadside, and the nurses once in the hospital.

He was told he’d never walk again. He was told he’d never drive again. He was told he’d need to be cared for 24 hours a day. He told them only he knew his body, and he knew what he’d do.

My friend nearly died, but that wasn’t the most amazing part of his story.

The Realisation – The Hope

I sat with him four weeks after the accident and I listened. He told me he would walk again. He told me he would drive again. He told me he will not be cared for, but will care for others.

He told me that not only will he walk again, he will run again. And he told me that not only will be run again, he will climb the highest peaks on every continent within five years. Including Everest.

His outlook on life changed. Life was too short to sit still. Life was too short to be stuck amongst the black and grey.

I listened to my friend talk, and I listened to the powerful determination in his voice. I didn’t say a word. I just nodded as he inspired me with the language escaping from the depths of his heart. And then he said something that changed my life. One paragraph, one emotion, one life changed in an instant.

“Don’t ever sit still. Don’t ever relax. Be busy every day, all day. Make every breath count. Run that marathon. Climb that mountain. Thank that friend. Visit that destination. Leave that job. Make that business succeed. Use every pump of that heart for good. Make every squeeze of that lung count. Do what you were born to do… live! Do it now, for tomorrow you may be dead!”

And so that’s what I did. I walked away from the hospital that day with a renewed love of life. A renewed energy and strength to do what I truly wanted to do.

That night, I went home and wrote a blog post. My story. My admission. My emotions poured out on a plate of public display. I also wrote my letter of resignation and addressed it to my boss.

I handed my boss my notice the next day, and walked away from the job just two weeks later. I had little money, little support, and even less sleep for the next three months. But I had my friends words in my head, and that’s all I needed.

Through sleepless nights and fear, through tears and knocks of confidence, I continued to write blog posts and articles for offline media. I wrote constantly for three months, and for the entire three months I endured the negativity of those around me. “What are you doing?” they asked. “You’re not going to earn money doing this!” they said. Oh, how they were wrong!

Three months, four days and five hours after I left my job (yes, I was counting!), my big break came. A guest post I wrote for a high profile blog sparked a huge amount of social media interest. The story within the post was then picked up by the mainstream media.

My story was published around the world, and my brand was solidified. I soon started receiving paid writing offers, and within three weeks of receiving the media coverage I had earned nearly $4,500.

Paradise!

Today, I live on an island in the Pacific. My apartment overlooks the ocean, I have no debt, and I’m earning an average of $20,000 a month, combining a mixture of affiliate marketing, writing and Web design. The friend that started me on this course is currently sat beside me as I write this. He’s staying with me for three weeks to recover after climbing Mt Kilimanjaro. He’s well on course to climb all the highest peaks in the world, just like he said he would.

I Was Once Like You…

I was once like you… I believed everything I read. I’m still like you, because this story isn’t true.

I’m not a millionaire. I don’t live on a remote island. And my friend didn’t get run over by a lorry. You can read more about my actual life elsewhere.

Don’t believe everything you read on a blog. It’s far too easy to lie.

The fact is, stories work incredibly well for capturing the attention of readers. They play on readers emotions. They relate to their own lives. And they have the ability to build suspense and surprise. Don’t believe everything you read in the blogosphere, but do use stories to capture the imagination of your readers.

Please share this post on Twitter, and let others realise the power of stories. Do you use stories on your blog? Do you enjoy reading stories from others? Let us know in the comments!

Related posts:

1. Kids, Girls, Zip Wires, Soldiers & Self Belief! The Story that Will Transform Your Blog… Photo by The U.S. Army July 1998. I was 10...

Photo by Rishibando

This is a guest post Pamelia Brown of AssociatesDegree.com.

Thomas Edison once said, “Genius is one percent inspiration and 99 percent perspiration.” What was he talking about?

You have this great idea for your blog, but you’re unable to get it up and running. The little voice inside your head tells you this idea is going to make you the big bucks. You can finally pay off those daunting college loans. Edison implies in his quote: there are tons of smart people in this world, most of them with some pretty great ideas. You may or may not be one of them, but that doesn’t matter. In the end, your work ethic and consistency is what will get you ahead.

So, are you having trouble focusing? First, you need to figure out what the root of the problem is. You could be apprehensive about getting down to business, you could naturally be a bit lazy, or you could just be procrastinating because you CAN. If you are working from home, that could be a huge part of the problem. I have provided some easy tips to help you stay on task while at home!

Cut the Communication Chord

I am a full-time blogger working primarily from home, and I used to have trouble concentrating on my assignments. I would get a text or a phone call from a friend, and I would be able to talk or discuss irrelevant issues for hours. Once I would finally hang up, I had the intention of doing hours of work. Next thing I knew (two minutes later), it would be 5 pm. I would tell myself, “There’s always tomorrow.” Wrong. It became an unhealthy pattern, and procrastination doesn’t pay the bills.

I started turning my personal cell phone off at 9 am. I made my husband block my Facebook account and my personal email account. It’s amazing how much work you can get done if you prevent yourself from accessing those social media sites. Try limiting your time, and block out phone calls or text messages. If you must communicate with your friends, make your phone calls during your lunch break. Make sure that lunch break is EARNED.

Procrastinate in a Meaningful Way

If you must procrastinate, spend a few minutes doing something meaningful. Clean up your work desk, or organize your files and folders on your computer. Set a few minutes a day to do this. It is much easier to do your work in a clean environment! You can also organize your emails. Which ones should be prioritized?

Keep in Touch with Your Co-Workers

While working from home, it is easy to feel isolated and out of touch with your actual assignments. If you work for a remote internet company or have staff working from home as well, keep discussions going on a daily basis. What work needs to get done? How are your coworkers progressing on assignments? You may even be able to get some ideas on how to stay on task!

Your Time is Valuable: Time Your Work

You may want to set a schedule, which details how long you will spend on each task for the day. Use Google calendars or an actual alarm clock on your computer or work desk. If you allot a certain amount of time for tasks, you are more likely to feel the necessary pressure to actually get them done.

How do you keep yourself focused when blogging? Do you write from home, the office or a public space like a coffee shop? Do you often find yourself procrastinating? Let us know in the comments!

This guest contribution was submitted by Pamelia Brown, who specializes in writing about associates degree. Questions and comments can be sent to: pamelia.brown @ gmail.com.

Related posts:

1. Guest Write at Blogging Zest Do you have a blogging tip? Would you like to...
2. Subscribe to Blogging Zest (Plus FREE Ebook) Receive exclusive access (for free!!) to interviews with 10 high...
3. How to Stand Out in a Blogging Crowd Photo by Julio Kohl There’s not many blogging niche’s that...
4. 6 Ways to Build Your Blogging Reputation & Increase Subscribers Photo by See-ming Lee I discussed yesterday about how important...

Photo by See-ming Lee

I discussed yesterday about how important your reputation is in order to build a successful blog, so today I want to discuss actual methods to build that reputation.

Guest Posts

I still remember when guest posting started to become popular amongst the blogging crowd. The first person I saw who truly took advantage of guest posting was a young lady called Jane May. She came on the blogging scene very quickly and back in 2007 wrote some of the first guest posts on John Chow’s blog. She wrote a series of excellent blog posts and quickly became a popular name with John’s audience. Soon thereafter, she sold her own blog for what I’m sure was a very nice figure.

I do sometimes wonder whether Jane was a fictional women made up by a more experienced blogger in order to sell (she had the looks, the personality, the writing, and the motivation). The way she just disappeared from the blogosphere forever when she sold her blog after building some fantastic relationships was strange to say the least, and a little disappointing for somebody like me who had become fond of her writing style and considered her a good online friend. But regardless of her departure, her use of guest posts to bring her to a position of authority within the blogosphere is one I still admire to this day.

Building a Relationship with Somebody Else’s Audience

Jane’s method of posting a lengthy series over several weeks on one single blog is even more useful now than it was back then when she did it. Guest posting is very common these days, and that means people are less likely to click through to your blog than in previous times and it’s likely to be harder to form a relationship with these people. And for guest posting to truly work as a quality promotional technique and to build your reputation, forming relationships is what you need to do. There are two ways to do this:

1. Write a series of posts in quick succession on one blog, targeting the same audience.
2. Write posts for a variety of blogs in quick succession, who you know have an overlapping audience.

There are advantages to both methods. With the first method, you can often strike a deal with the blog author so you can control exactly when your posts are released to ensure maximum effect, and you guarantee that your audience is the same each time, therefore hitting the same people with your brand over and over.

But the second method, when managed well, can often prove even more lucrative. While you’re not going to be able to hit exactly the same audience on multiple blogs, you’ll find that much of the audience of one blog also reads another blog. Or that same audience might even read two other blogs, or even a few more. Write guest posts for all these blogs and publish them within a short space of time (the same day if you can!), and you’ll instantly stand out to those people who read all or several of those blogs. Your name will seem like it’s everywhere, and that’s exactly what you want when you’re trying to build your reputation and your online brand.

I’ve written at length about how guest posting can be a great promotional technique. Seriously, use that next great post you were going to post on your blog in a more creative way by sending it to a high profile blog to be published as a guest post, and then do this once a week. You’ll be amazed at the results!

Network With High Profile Bloggers

There are very few industries in the world where anybody, anywhere, no matter how little experience they have can easily network with some of the most high profile in the niche. You could be in your first hour of being a blogger, but all you have to do to speak to Darren Rowse of ProBlogger is create a Twitter account. It’s easy, it’s fun, it’s valuable when you’re learning, and it builds your reputation.

Here are three ways to network with high profile bloggers and build your reputation in the process.

Interview Bloggers

Most bloggers, even the highest profile, will almost always accept an interview offer. Send them your questions, get the answers, and publish the interview on your blog. The very fact that you were able to communicate directly with a high profile blogger will impress your own readers and it’ll start the basis of forming a relationship with the right people in the right places.

Social Media

It’s so easy to network with the right people using social media. Add them on Twitter, on Facebook, on StumbleUpon and any other social media Web sites you use. Then chat to them. They’re humans, just like the rest of us. If they happen to give you some useful advice during your conversations, use it to spark a blog post where you can tell all your readers about your conversation and what you learned. Passing on the knowledge you have gained is what blogging is all about.

Face-to-Face Events

There’s no shortage of face to face events for bloggers to get involved in. There are thousands every year, from professional conferences to Tweetups to blogger coffee mornings, you shouldn’t have any issue engaging with like-minded (and often more experienced) individuals in a face to face environment.

Release an e-Product

We’re all aware that e-products are becoming more popular. Whether they’re offered for free or for a fee, they’re a fantastic way to build your reputation. They show you’re dedicated to blogging, willing to put in the time and effort to build a product, and position you as an authority voice on a topic.

Help Somebody Specific

I wouldn’t say it’s easy to help a large group in one go like we do with our blog posts, but it’s certainly something we all do as bloggers. To stand out and build your reputation, it’s time to help people individually. It doesn’t have to be difficult or time consuming, it just has to matter to the person you’re helping.

I tend to do this quite a lot, just because I like doing it. In the past, I’ve gone out of my way to help a teenager who found my blog and became a regular commentator. She was truly passionate and interested in blogging. She had never blogged before, had never had an audience, never created a Web site, and never had any help. And that last point was key. I almost held her hand, gave her advice every time she asked, promoted her blog whenever I could, and generally went out of my way to see a budding blogger with great enthusiasm and passion do something she enjoyed.

Never.Stop.Blogging. Ever!

I realise I’m the biggest hypocrite alive by talking about this point. If you want to build your reputation as a blogger, you can’t stop blogging. You can’t stop for six months and start again and expect your reputation to be what it was six months earlier. It’s just not going to happen. I’ve been blogging for nine years and I genuinely believe my lack of consistency and my tendency for being a perfectionist are what have truly stopped me from becoming a larger authority blogger. I have my own small following who will always stick with me and enjoy what I have to say, but that could have been so much bigger had I not taken the three or four extended breaks during the past nine years.

Be consistent, and be consistently good. You can’t build your reputation without doing this!

Be Authentic, Have Morals, Be You!

You may be the most consistent, you may write some good things, and you may release an e-product, but unless you show your personality, be engaging, and open yourself up to engagement, you’re going to struggle to build your reputation.

Have morals when writing. Don’t just promote something because the affiliate rate is good. Promote it because you have tried and tested it and found it to be good. Be the good guy amongst the many bad guys, and you’ll win the best audience. Be the one who engages and cares, and you’ll build an audience that engages and cares too.

Becoming an Authority Blogger is Impossible Without a Solid Reputation

Remember, you could write the best content, but if you’re not engaging your audience, you’re not solidifying your brand, you’re not paying your knowledge forward, and you’re not being consistent in your writing schedule, you’re not going to build your reputation, and you’re not going to build your blog.

How do you build your reputation? Do you struggle with posting consistency? How do you engage with high profile bloggers? Let us know in the comments!

Further Reading:
9 Practical Tips for Building Your Website Authority

Related posts:

1. Reader Testimonials Over the course of my blogging career I have been...
2. Guest Write at Blogging Zest Do you have a blogging tip? Would you like to...
3. Subscribe to Blogging Zest (Plus FREE Ebook) Receive exclusive access (for free!!) to interviews with 10 high...
4. How to Stand Out in a Blogging Crowd Photo by Julio Kohl There’s not many blogging niche’s that...
5. Stop Procrastinating! Start Blogging Like a Pro! Photo by Rishibando This is a guest post Pamelia Brown...

Photo by Madeira

A funny thing happened tonight. As I sat here contemplating my next move within the blogosphere, I suddenly found my light. My light to follow to lead me to success. To lead me to great things. To lead me to what I want in life.

But before that light appeared, as I sat here contemplating my next move, I realised within myself there was actually no move for me to make. At least not until I knew where I was going. I realised, very suddenly as though a light had been shone inside, that I didn’t know where I was going. I was lost on a road, with a map in front of me, but no idea where to turn. A map can only lead you where you want to be if you know where that place is.

Finding a Purpose to Your Blog

You’ve heard it all before. “Your blog needs a goal”. “You must know what you want to achieve”. “You must set yourself milestones and targets and blah blah blah blah blah…”. You’ve heard it all before. But the problem is, most people don’t listen. I didn’t listen. I’m a man. I wouldn’t be a man if I listened (Don’t go there ladies. ). So I’m here today to make you listen. I’m going to ram it down your throats so hard it’ll bounce back up and hit your brain. I do that not to be clever, I do that because it’s the only way your blog will succeed. Because you can’t possibly ‘succeed’ if you haven’t defined your own ‘success’.

I ask people all the time what their goal for their blog is. I just asked it again on Twitter, and not one person responded to tell me they have a specific, measurable, achievable, life-changing, ultimate goal for their blog. There are always plenty of people who tell me they have goals for the next week or next month or next year. But it’s rare I come across somebody who has a final goal. A goal, that once achieved, will be ultimate and final.

Far too often when discussing goals for blogs I hear the phrase “I’m working on it.” That phrase makes me cringe. Don’t work on it. Do it! Step back from your Twitter account. Step back from your latest article or seminar in the latest ‘Cool-If-You’re-Part-Of-It’ Internet marketing course. Step back from the cyber world and in to reality for just a minute. I promise your Twitter buddies and seminars and info-products and ebooks will all still be there when you return. Just for a minute, step back in to reality, and contemplate your goal. Not your goals for 2010. Not your goals for February. But the one goal, that once achieved, allows you to slouch in your chair, breath out a long, hard, sigh of contempt, and speak the words “My blog is now a success.”

“I want to make a living from blogging…”

When I pose the question of final goals to bloggers, most of them have no answer. The thought of something ‘final’ related to their blog is scary for them. But some people do have an answer. Unfortunately, the answer is usually this…. “I want to make a living from blogging”.

(Bare with me while I walk out of the room, bang my head against a wall, scream, and then calmly walk back to my desk. Arrrrrgh!)

Goals must be measurable. I can’t stress this enough. ‘Making a living’ is not measurable. How much money a month is ‘making a living’? It’s only be defining this that you start to get a meaningful, measurable goal. And at what point in time do you want to achieve this so called ‘goal’ by? Are you prepared to work until two days before you die to achieve this goal? Apparently you are, because you haven’t set any timescale. You’ll be happy to work for 50 years to achieve this goal, then pass away peacefully as an old man, knowing in your heart you did achieve what you set out to achieve, if only two days before old age crept up behind you.

Should a Blog Ever End?

I lot of the difficulty in setting a ‘final, ultimate goal’ lies in that word ‘final’. A final, ultimate goal suggests there has to be an end to your blog. A day, a time, a place when your blog comes to a close. And in some ways, I think that is true. There does have to be a time when it comes to a close. Maybe it will be as simple as when you hit X subscribers and you decide to sell your blog. Or maybe it will be something more complicated, like when you pass away, or when you decide to hand it over to your children. Whatever the method, there will be a day when your blog isn’t your blog anymore. A frightening thought, isn’t it?!

So What’s Your Goal?

So I’d like to pose a question to you, and I want you to think long and hard about your answer. What is your ultimate goal for your blog? What do you want to achieve that will ultimately allow you to say “My blog is a success”? What is it that is going to provide you with the motivation to blog and interact with your community of readers and friends when you’re having a bad day? What’s the one thing that is going to provide a sense of focus to your blogging efforts?

Step back from the cyber world and in to reality. Your Twitter buddies and seminars and info-products and ebooks will all still be there when you return. Because remember, a blog without a purpose, without a measurable, achievable goal, is like a map in the hands of somebody with no destination. You can walk forever, but you’ll never get where you want to be unless you know where that place lies.

Do you have an ultimate goal for your blog? How do you know when you’re blog will be a success? Let us know in the comments!

This is my second post in a series discussing my cornerstones of blogging. Previous posts in this series include Kids, Girls, Zip Wires, Soldiers & Self Belief! The Story that Will Transform Your Blog…. Look out for more posts in this series later this week. I’ll slowly progress up the scale, until we hit what I believe to be a cornerstone so important, you can’t build a successful blog without it. Subscribe today if you haven’t already done so.

Related posts:

1. Kids, Girls, Zip Wires, Soldiers & Self Belief! The Story that Will Transform Your Blog… Photo by The U.S. Army July 1998. I was 10...

Photo by The U.S. Army

July 1998. I was 10 years old. It was a hot Summer day, and the whole town was out at the annual charity gala. People were on the fairground rides. Others were eating ice cream. And even more were watching the display of acrobats, gymnasts and pampered pooches in the main arena. Me? I was watching with intent as person after person fell over the edge of the 100 foot drop and flew down the zip line, only to be quickly stopped at the bottom by two British Army soldiers.

One by one, they would climb the scaffold tower to reach the top. One by one, the soldier at the top would secure their hands in the pulley system, and one by one, they would drop over the edge, scream, and seemingly fly to the bottom. With a sharp bang of ropes colliding, two soldiers at the bottom would bring them to a stop, and the persons face would light up with a smile. They had just taken on the official UK Army zip wire, and lived to tell the tale.

Taking On The Zip Wire… At 10 years old!

I wasn’t leaving the gala that day without proving to myself I could do it. Without showing The Army what this 10 year old was made of!

As I walked up to the desk to pay my turn, I wasn’t the least bit nervous. My parents watched as I handed over my £1 to the Army fitness instructor in his skin-tight white vest. He joked that I would be the youngest person to take on the wire that day.

As I handed over my pound, he gave me the pulley system that you hang from and attaches to the rope when you get to the top, and I set off to climb the stairs. The stairs were steep, and made only of scaffolding so as you climbed higher you could easily see the ground below.

It seemed like an eternity as I climbed step after step, occasionally glancing up to see how close I was to the top, but more often glancing down so I knew how far from the ground I was. At 10 years old, I wasn’t built like a soldier like the zip wire was designed for. The pulley I was carrying with me to the top was getting very heavy. I remember two teenage girls behind me could see I was struggling, and without a moments hesitation they offered to carry my pulley for me.

As I reached the top, I was a nervous wreck. It looked much higher from up there. The girls handed my pulley to the soldier so he could get it setup on the rope. I remember looking down at the ground and seeing my parents. They looked like spots a million miles below. I could feel the tower swaying and shaking as people flew down the rope ahead of me. I wasn’t sure I wanted to do this anymore.

Stepping Up to the Edge

I moved forward, ever closer to the edge of the small platform. The soldier stood behind, and slowly put my arms threw the hoops of the pulley. Apparently these stop you falling from the rope to a very timely death if you let go of the pulley handles, but they didn’t feel the least bit secure or capable of stopping me falling.

The soldier could see I was nervous. I didn’t want to do this. Tears were starting to flood my eyes. I was way outside my comfort zone, and I didn’t like it one bit.

Rather than giving up and letting me walk back down the steps, the soldier did something I’ll never forget. Something I’ll take with me through life and to my grave.

“Would you like me to go down the wire with you?”

The soldier looked at me and asked, “Would you like me to go down the wire with you?”. As he asked me this, he took hold of the pulley as though to join me. In a quiet, teary voice, I said “Yes”. And with that, we were away. We were over the edge. My feet were touching nothing. 100 feet above the ground. The soldier holding on behind me, making sure I was safe. My parents below, smiling and waiting for me to reach the bottom.

I held tight. As tight as I could. I closed my eyes only for a brief second before opening them and enjoying the flight. As I came towards the bottom, I began to run with my legs in midair to ensure I would stay upright once I touched the ground. BANG! I hit the rope held by the two soldiers to bring me to a stop.

Confused Parents & The Best Soldier in the World!

I instantly ran to my parents with a huge smile on my face. I told them how scared I was at the top, and how glad I was that the soldier had come down the wire with me.

My parents looked at me with a confused face. “There was no soldier.” they said. “You came down all by yourself.”

I looked back up at the tower, and there was the soldier. Standing there at the top, a big smile on his face, waving and giving a relaxed, informal salute in my direction. If he hadn’t been so high up, I would have sworn he gave me a wink as well.

I came down the zip wire by myself. At 10 years old, I had conquered the wire, and lived to tell the tale.

Self Belief – A Key Cornerstone to a Successful Blog

This post is the first in a series of four that I’ll be publishing over the next week, discussing what I believe to be the four key cornerstones to creating a successful blog. Today, I want to talk about self belief.

So many people walk in to the blogosphere with no plan. They just start writing and hope the visitors will arrive. Unfortunately, that’s not going to happen. With 175,000 new blogs created every day (that’s two new blogs every second of every day), you can’t afford to write with no plan. There are far too many people starting blogs on the same topic as you who have a plan, so you can’t afford to not have one.

Planning is key to your self belief. Most blogs fade away in to the distance less than 12 months after they were launched. Without a plan, you have no goals. Without goals, you have no way to measure your success. Without a measurement for success, you have no way to tell how well your blog is doing. Without this, you can’t believe in yourself. In order to believe in yourself, you must setup goals you can achieve. Without goals, you lose your aim and your focus, and with it you lose your self belief.

Finding Self Belief From Those Around You

Blogging can quite often become a lonely world. You toil all day, writing post after post. Quite often, for new startups, there are no comments to be read and no relationships with other bloggers to call upon. It’s at this point you need to start building relationships.

I wouldn’t have gone down that zip wire without the soldier giving me some self belief. I wouldn’t have gone down that path without feeling safe, secure and without somebody figuratively and indeed physically behind me. You must find a circle of people to keep you accountable and to keep you going even when things are hard, because believe me, that first six months will be the hardest six months of your blogging career.

Twitter is a fantastic place to build your circle, but as is often the case in the blogosphere, times are changing. Forums are now becoming an integral part of the lives of many bloggers. Many of the forums charge a small monthly fee which some people like and some don’t. Personally, I find paid forums to be the best, because they ensure everybody within them are people who take their blog and their marketing efforts seriously. There are several paid for forums and courses that include forum membership, including Chris Garrett’s Authority Blogger and The Third Tribe (a culmination of several high profile bloggers), both of which I’m a member and huge advocate of. I don’t often recommend membership sites like these, but they are both proving to be an invaluable asset to me and my blog. I certainly wouldn’t recommend them if I didn’t think they were worth the money.

Another paid for site, which I admit I haven’t used but does have an excellent reputation, is Darren Rowse’s own ProBlogger Community.

Of course, I’m sure there will be some of you who prefer a free way to interact with others and build your circle, so for that there is the Blogging Tips Forums.

All of these forums allow you to bounce ideas off other like-minded bloggers. All of them allow you to be kept accountable to your goals, and keep others accountable. And all of them contain real success stories that will motivate you, not from A-List bloggers with thousands of subscribers, but from people just like us who are achieving realistic goals week after week. There’s nothing quite like a realistic success story to keep you believing in yourself.

Belief in yourself is key to achieving success with your blog. Set yourself goals on a regular basis, and interact with a circle of like-minded people. Rather than being the kid stood at the top of the zip wire who doesn’t interact and decides to walk back down the steps, be the kid that talks with others around him and uses them to achieve his goals.

Do you struggle to believe in your blogging abilities? Do you have your own circle of like-minded people to bounce ideas off and take advice from? Do you set yourself goals, and if so, how often? Let us know in the comments!

PS. Look out for three more posts this week discussing my other cornerstones of blogging. I’ll slowly progress up the scale, until we hit what I believe to be a cornerstone so important, you can’t build a successful blog without it. Subscribe today if you haven’t already done so.

Related posts:

1. Defining ‘Success’, Because Your Blog Can’t Succeed Without it… Photo by Madeira A funny thing happened tonight. As I...
2. I Was Just Like You… Then I Became a Millionaire. My Story. Photo by Marcel Germain I was just like you. I...