I fell in love with storytelling when I was a little girl. Telling stories has always been a balm for my soul, and I felt so grateful that God made a way for me to be able to do it consistently as my business and to find prosperity for myself and for my family.

When I created my first business as a storyteller, the Internet was not something “ordinary people” had access to… and I was a slum kid!

It feels like a miracle that I was led to learn English, learn marketing, and acquire web design skills and that blogging as a career opened up right as I needed to make an income as a single mom and entrepreneur.

My journey as a blogger has been surreal. Through my blog, God has given my family opportunities I never dreamed were possible and I have been able to provide for my family beyond I could ever imagine.

It’s humbling that I now mentor, coach, and train mom bloggers around the world and that people seek my guidance, and it’s just mind-blowing that I have been awarded for my work, especially when I think about all the sacrifice it took for me to learn English as a second language. 

It’s interesting that some people assume that being successful at blogging is something random that happens to a chosen few, or that there are certain physical attributes or conditions that someone needs to have in order to achieve success with their blog.

Like with any other business, there are certain patterns successful bloggers follow to get the results they want, and while it is true we could figure out and model their formula, you must define success on your own terms!

First, let’s get clear. What does success mean to you? How can you measure your blog’s success?

• traffic?
• comments?
• subscribers?
• conversions?
• click-throughs?
• shares?
• exposure for your brand?

Before you decide you are not getting enough out of your blog, you must define ENOUGH on your own terms. Do not fall in the trap of comparing yourself and your blog or your content to someone else’s.

[Tweet “Define ENOUGH on your own terms; don’t compare yourself or your content to someone else’s. #mindsetformoms”]

I’ve had several conversations over the years – and just 4 this week – about why blogging works for some moms and why blogging doesn’t seem to work for others, so I decided it was time to write about it.

Whether you are here because you want to get more out of your blog and you feel like blogging isn’t working for you, or you’re simply curious to learn the 3 common reasons why blogging doesn’t work for others according to Elayna, I am glad you are here because these pitfalls are preventable, and reminders never hurt.

Reason #1 Bloggers Fail: Lack of Strategy

One of my favorite sayings of all time is “if you fail to plan, you plan to fail;” maybe because with all the hats I wear, I need this daily constant reminder.

In order to succeed in blogging, you must have a solid strategy in place for your blog. Notice that I said solid, not perfect: done is better than perfect! 

Even if you start out with a “bad” strategy, you can learn and tweak, correcting your course while in motion. One thing must be true, though: your strategy must align with your BOLD goals, your top passions, and your main priorities, so that it is sustainable and you could develop the self-motivation to re-fuel along the journey.

When you have a strategy, then the tools, tactics, and technology you use in your blogging can work together to maximize your results. They say “you hit only what you aim for” and if you’re aiming randomly, you will miss the target.

Reason #2 Bloggers Fail:  Content Needs Focus

There is so much amazing content out there: blog posts, videos (vlogs), articles, images, etc. and there is only so much time in the day. And don’t get me started about how attention spans are getting shorter by the second.

In order to stand out, we must create original, valuable, well-written content that is focused on addressing specific issues, questions, and concerns of a very select niche, and organized in just a few categories that we can use to guide our posting calendar and create balanced content in all the areas we specialize in. That was a mouthful. 

Here’s a simpler way to say it: pick a lane, become the queen of that lane, and give it your all.

I can see many people struggling with picking a niche, narrowing down topics, or choosing an overall theme. In fact, the latest trend is for people to call themselves “lifestyle blogger” so they share random thoughts about just about everything, which causes them to not commit to anything.

It’s ironic that I’ve won several Best Lifestyle Blogger awards, when I have 3 defined categories that I write about all the time.

I tend to work with creative types and structure is something they mostly resist. I once had a coaching client who hated the words “outline,” “intro,” or “template,” because they caused her stress and made her feel confined.

Believe it or not, structure provides freedom! As you define your objectives and match your content to your chosen focus audience, you will create more, help more people, and see more results.

Reason #3 Bloggers Fail:  Poor (or no) Promotion

“Build it and they will come...” ummmm… Not really! A successful blogger is a marketer and is proactive in the marketing process.

Remember my 5 stages to marketing?

Contact > Conversation > Connection > Community > Conversion

These steps all require that you promote yourself because if you are not “out there,” then these won’t happen. Not promoting your blog is a disservice to your audience because there are people out there who need to read it.

Getting the word out about your blog doesn’t happen overnight and requires daily actions to make progress toward the goal, according to plan (see reason #1).

[Tweet “3 common reasons blogging isn’t working for you: lack of strategy, lack of focus, lack of promotion. #mindsetformoms”]

Now you know that to achieve the results you want out of your blog, you must:

1. Design a road-map that defines where you’re going and how you will get there.
2. Define your ideal audience intimately and focusing on providing relevant solutions.
3. Determine the daily actions you will take to achieve your dream – and do this consistently.

When you are intentional about the actions you take and trust the process, blogging will work for you, you will serve people, and you will get more joy out of it, 

I look forward to your feedback. Would you be willing to share some of your blogging goals and the actions you are using to achieve them? TIA!

[ela]