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- The Perils and Pitfalls of Blogging in College
This guest post is by Rob Paone of BROcrastinator.
In March of 2010, during my sophomore year at Elon University, I started a blog called the Jersey Jets Fan as a way to exercise my passion for professional football. What originally started as a hobby evolved into much more than that, as I constantly looked to further promote my blog and slowly began to monetize the site.
In January 2011, I launched my second blog, BROcrastinator.com in hopes of capturing a large piece of the male college demographic. While, I've had varying degrees of success and made a few dollars along the way, I've learned a lot about the blogosphere. Balancing the work load of college as well as maintaining a full-time blog is a difficult thing to do and it certainly has its benefits and pit-falls. Here they are, according to yours truly.
Pros
Real business experience
College is a time in which you're supposed to learn everything you need to adequately survive in the real world. As a marketing student, I've learned my fair share of terms, equations and statistics in college, but only blogging has given me the real world experience that will help me to become successful in the business world.
In the past year and a half blogging, I've joined various affiliate networks, spoken with a ton of potential advertisers, hired/fired/kept bloggers, worked with different partner sites and created business opportunities for myself on the way. I've never made a lot of money, but it's been enough to offset the costs of up-keep on my blogs and even to splurge on a few items like new golf clubs.
Resume booster
Whether you're applying for an internship in the summer, grad school or a full-time job, include your blog in your resume. When I was applying for an internship in sports marketing, my experience as a blogger with the Jersey Jets Fan was one of the key factors that generated employer interest.
A lot of people say they are interested in a subject or have experience in something, but not many people have the dedication to maintain and run an effective blog. If you do, don't be ashamed, write about it in your resume and it might help you earn that job you've been striving for.
Self-esteem booster
Never in a million years when I started blogging did I ever believe my articles would be featured on Sports Illustrated or talked about on the New York Times website. It truly gives you a sense of accomplishment when you work hard and someone notices by featuring your work.
As a blogger who only gets around 400 views a day, sometimes I get discouraged when reading the "quick and easy" success stories of other bloggers who reach a million views overnight. Even though I've never had a viral post or even broken 1,000 views in a day, it makes you feel good when someone acknowledges your work.
Cons
Lack of time
While I originally started a blog because I had spare time in college, I soon realized the amount of spare time I had wasn't enough to take my blogs to where I wanted them to go. There were points in time in which I was too spread out, writing for too many blogs, concentrating on too many social media sites, talking in too many forums. You only have so many hours in a day, and I've learned that you must spend them wisely on what works well for you.
At one point, I was writing for a prestigious New York Jets blog in addition to my own. While I was at first honored by the opportunity and experience, I didn't have enough time to put full effort into both. Something had to give and as much as it pained me, the prestigious blog wasn't as important to me as my college grades or my own blog.
Lack of capital
Like many of you, one of the reasons I began to blog was because of the chance to make money. I was never hoping for much, just enough for some spending cash on the weekends. However, there have been times when I started to believe the saying, "You have to spend money to make money". Well, like I just told you, I am cash strapped college kid with a few spare dollars here and there but nothing significant. It isn't the easiest thing in the world to launch a good looking website with about $100 while others out there are spending thousands.
I'm aware that my blogs aren't the prettiest thing your eye has ever seen, but I've done my best with the money and technological skills I've had. While some older bloggers may have the spare cash to drop $10,000 on a beautiful looking website, college bloggers might have to quit at a $50 premium theme. I'm not saying you need money to build a good looking and successful blog, but it certainly doesn't hurt.
Overcoming the difficulties
When blogging in college, or on any time constraint, it's important to make sure you know your priorities. While I place school work over blogging, when I'm not studying, I use that time to advance my blog. I actually spend a lot less time doing school work then I did before blogging because I know I have additional work to attend to when I'm done. The most difficult times can occur during mid-terms and final exams when the stress of multiple classes all come crashing down at once. Sometimes, you just have to put your blogging goals on the backburner for a week, even if your visits and page views have to suffer.
In regards to the lack of money many bloggers have, I've learned to make the best with what you have. I originally started with a free WordPress theme and then moved on to a Thesis theme with a premium skin as my blogs advanced. By re-investing almost all of the money my sites have earned, I've been able to improve the design and even spend a little money on advertising. While I sometimes wish I had thousands of dollars to spend on my blogs, the reality is I don't. However, with some smart money management and a little creativity, you can stretch your dollar and take it a long way.
There you have it, those are some of my main advantages and disadvantages to the college blogger. I hope I've shed some light on the topic, especially to you college students out there who are looking to potentially start a blog. It's a tough thing to do, but it is certainly well worth it. I've found in blogging that you only get out as much as you put in, but if you put forth a ton of effort, you can find huge rewards.
Rob is an up-coming college senior, blogger and wanna-be entrepreneur. He is currently working on his second blog, BROcrastinator, and working toward his dream of blogging full-time after graduation.
Originally at: Blog Tips at ProBlogger
The Perils and Pitfalls of Blogging in College
Переслать - 4 Success Secrets of Infamous British Author, Jeffery Archer
This guest post is by Aman Basanti of www.Ageofmarketing.com.
Love him or hate him, there is no denying the phenomenon that is Jeffery Archer. With 27 book titles to his name and international sales passing $250 million, Archer is a phenomenon.
So what can a man as successful as Archer teach you about blogging success?
Lesson 1: Blog about what you know
We have all heard that you should blog about what you love but, according to Archer, you should blog about what you know.
“I always say to people,” said Archer in an interview, “don't write about goblins; don't write about wizards just because they're in. Write what you feel at ease with. Write what you feel good with.”
He gave the example of Jane Austen, whom Archer believes wrote well because she wrote about what she knew.
“Always remember Jane Austen. [She] lived in a small village, and wrote about her mother being unable to get rid of four daughters. Then she wrote about her mother being unable to get rid of three daughters. Then she wrote about her mother being unable to get rid of two daughters. Then she wrote about the daughter.“And genius—you have to turn the page not only because of her wonderful command of language but because she wrote about what she knew about.”
Lesson 2: Be persistent
Archer's first book—Not a Penny More, Not a Penny Less—was rejected by 13 publishers before being accepted. The 14th gave him a £3000 advance. Most people would not have had the persistence to keep trying after the first five or six rejections, maybe nine or ten if they were pushing it, but Archer kept pushing.
What was persistence worth to Archer? At last count, Not a Penny More, Not a Penny Less, has sold over 27 million copies worldwide. And that is just one of his 27 plus books.
So do not lose hope if a few blogs turn down, worse yet not respond to, your guest post submissions. Do not lose hope if your blog does not open with a bang. Your big break might only be a submission away. Imagine if Archer had given up after the 13th rejection.
Lesson 3: Be a storyteller
The next lesson is that you do not have to be a great writer to be a successful blogger—but you do have to be a great storyteller.
What is the difference?
“I tell audiences all over the world,” explains Archer, “that a writer is someone who is very well educated, who has a tremendous command of language. Patrick White is a classic example. He is unquestionably, unquestionably a great writer, won the Nobel prize and he's brilliant.”
A storyteller, on the other hand, “begins once upon and a time, and prays.”
While his definition of a storyteller is a little vague, the point he makes is clear. You do not have to have a MA in English to tell a tantalizing story but you do have to tell a tantalizing story to be successful blogger.
Lesson 4: Understand the importance of the inner circle
A woman once asked Archer how he got through his prison sentence.
“I just want to know how did you get through those two years being confined in a cell when you had the world at your feet? How did you get through? I mean, I know if I was put in a jail cell I'd probably commit suicide, I couldn't survive. I just couldn't do it.”
“I promise you,” replied Archer, “you'd be fine if your friends stood behind you. I promise you'd be fine. I was inspired by and kept going by my friends. If they'd run away from me, if they'd deserted me, you're right – I'd have gone under, I'd have given in. But they kept me going.”
This is probably the most important lesson. In order to survive as a blogger, you need someone to believe in you. You need someone who shares your mindset, who thinks it can be done or at least will support you till you find out either way.
You look at most successful people and they have all had someone who supported them through their journey. Goethe had his brother, who sent him money nearly his whole life. Stephen King had his wife who never complained. Jeffery Archer had his friends.
But it does not have to be someone you know personally. You can find an online community, like this one, which will keep you positive and connected.
Have you applied these lessons in your own blogging career somehow? Share your thoughts in the comments.
Aman Basanti writes about the psychology of buying and teaches you how you can use the principles of consumer psychology to boost your sales. Visit www.Ageofmarketing.com/free-ebook to get his new e-book – Marketing to the Pre-Historic Mind: How the Hot New Science of Behavioural Economics Can Help You Boost Your Sales – for FREE.
Originally at: Blog Tips at ProBlogger
4 Success Secrets of Infamous British Author, Jeffery Archer
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