Genea from Indiana says her #1 biggest blogging frustration is, “Fear. I am afraid no one will read it and it will be awful and a big waste of time.”
Here’s how to overcome the fear of not getting readers …
I remember before I started blogging, back when blogging was still an idea in my head, I went to my mom and told her I was thinking about starting a blog.
In just getting out of Old Navy, where I had saved some money and was inspired to write a post about it, I mentioned my idea to her.
The first thing out of her mouth was, “What if you run out of things to say?”
Quickly, I reminded her that I’m chatty Kathy over here and would never run out of things to say. She was skeptical about the idea, but it didn’t stop me. I eventually started the blog that you are reading right now.
Genea, first I’d say that fear is a beautiful thing. For a rebel at heart like me, it has a way of pushing people to prove everyone wrong. I use the doubters and naysayers in my life to fuel my passion for blogging and look how far I’ve come! From homeless to $75k/month. Not too shabby. 🙂
For others, fear can become a crippling thing. My advice is to stop fear in it’s tracks. Recognize it for what it is and go for it, full throttle. I wrote an entire 7-day course on How to Easily Start a Blog with No Fear and I’d encourage you to check it out.
With that said, I can understand the doubts that loom over you, as they are extremely common. Ultimately, the root of that fear is saying you feel you may not be good enough for someone to spend time reading your stuff. It’s a self confidence issue. Because if you felt you had something valuable to say, you would be proud to say it and promote your blog to everyone to boost blog traffic.
So today, I’d like to discuss the deeper root of that question and help you (and others) work through it.
How to Overcome the Fear of Not Getting Readers
Think about all the books on the shelves in a bookstore.
There are a gazillion books on the market with more books being published every day. In fact, I have an entire bookshelf dedicated solely to children’s books for my kids. They love to read. They read many books. All different kinds of topics, writing styles, age levels, and so on. As they grow, they read different age level books and are interested in different types of things.
Do you read books, Genea? How many books have you read in your lifetime? Just one….or more?
Just as there are a gazillion books out there, there are a gazillion websites out there as well. Each site has a different and unique person or brand behind it. Each site attracts and maintains a different target audience.
Your site is one site of many, this is true, but you bring your own unique perspective and experiences to the table, and that’s ultimately what your audience wants from you and how you can increase blog traffic.
Something that only YOU can give them.
No one else has your unique voice.
No one else has gone through what you’ve gone through.
No one else can teach or educate or even speak the way YOU do.
Blogging isn’t about chasing a ton of numbers. It’s about being yourself, being real to how many ever people are there. When you are blogging for yourself (and not for numbers), it frees you to be yourself and write from the heart. It frees you to be yourself.
Over time your audience will tell you what they want to hear from you. Certain topics will resonate with them more than others, then it’s a matter of talking about those topics more (if you want to).
When your focus is simply on being you and helping others, it won’t matter if there are 100 people who listen to you, or a million.
Either way, if your goal is to create a money-making blog, you can make money from either option. You don’t need millions of readers to create a million dollar blogging empire. All you need is some genuine readers who love your stuff, and chances are, you will find them.
How can I be sure?
There are 7 billion people in the world. I’m pretty confident that you can find at least 100,000 of those 7 billion people that love what YOU personally have to say.
Your audience cares about you. They care about what YOU have to say, your unique perspective and experience. The more you are personal and speak from the heart, the more people you will attract and grow blog traffic!
You are NOT like everyone else. You were created different. Therefore, your blog will be different too.
Don’t get wrapped up in your fears. Don’t let them overtake you. USE THEM to FUEL you! To push you onward. Conquer your fears, one at a time.
Those self doubts will come and go in your blogging journey (as they do for EVERYONE, myself included), but you will be changed BY your blogging journey for the better. Blogging has changed my life. It has changed the lives of many others. Where would I be right now, if I would have listened to my mom, or to everyone else in my life at the time who encouraged me NOT to start a blog?
YOU get to decide what you do!
Don’t let others or your own internal fears stop you from going after what you want.
You are powerful. You are unique and special and yes, there will be many who come to your blog just to hear what you have to say. Anytime you start feeling down on yourself, simply pick up a book. Remember that there are MANY, MANY FANTASTIC books out there, and you can be one of them as a blogger if you work hard and don’t let your fears stop you!
