This is my second “Wanna be a Great blogger” series (by following examples of an animal).
From the book of Proverbs:
Go to the ant, you sluggard; observe its ways and be wise! It has no commander, overseer, or ruler, yet it prepares its food in the summer; it gathers at the harvest what it will eat
Here the book is talking about laziness and how we should overcome it by following the “leadership” of the ants. How to blog like an ant? What does an ant have to do with blogging?
How to overcome laziness in Blogging by being an ant
- Motivation – An ant “has no commander, overseer, or ruler”
If you do a bit of research about the ants, the Queens don’t actually rule and told the ants what to do. The ants themselves know what their roles are (as a soldier, a worker, etc). It’s interesting, isn’t it? How they work without anybody telling them what to do. How about you as a blogger? Who are your “rulers, commanders, or overseers?”. Does anyone or anything actually force you to blog? What’s your motivation? Does it come from the inside or from the outside? Learn like an ant, that keeps on working without relying upon someone or something to “whip” you out! - Plan ahead – “It prepares its food in the summer; it gathers at the harvest what it will eat”
Have you actually prepared for the future of your blog? Or you are the type of “do whatever I can now, and see what will happen later”?. Unfortunately I’m the later type. I do what I can now and hoping something will happen in the future. It’s sort of works but not optimally. The ants work during the summer where food are abundant and enjoying their food during the winter. Have you actually “collected your food”? Have you done the best for your blog? Things such as: themes, content, traffic & link building, etc. You’ll never know when one day an “important” person visits your blog and give you a one-time opportunity for you. If your blog is not ready, that one chance will be gone forever!
I’m lucky to be chosen as one of the Best Geek Blog finalists by Nuffnang. I never thought this would happen. The finalists were chosen by the committee based on design, content, and user friendliness. I’m “lucky” that this blog has enough of them to be selected. What about your blog? Have you been taken care of it well? - Focus
An ant is focus in the task at hand. To be focused however, you need to have a goal. The ants’ goal here is to collect the food for the winter. Have you ever had a goal what you want to achieve by blogging? Just pure passion? Making money to replace your full time position? To be recognized in the blogosphere? If you never have a goal, set one NOW. If you already do, how focused are you in reaching that goal? An ant is only doing what it should: focus on reaching the goal. It works hard for the goal and will not stop until the winter comes.
Find out the things that make you lose focus! Run away from it! Sometimes you think that you can fight it, but you know you can’t! Facebook? Playing games? Know your own weaknesses and “run away” from it if you want to focus! - Initiative
The ants don’t just sit there idly waiting for the food to come. They go out from their nests and search for food. They go out from their “comfort zone”. Be initiative! Ask around if you are looking for private advertisers. Email those vendors if you are asking for a review unit (which I normally do to get that first “break through”). Wanne befriend other bloggers? Then take the initiative first! - Be Persistent
Ever play around with an ant while it’s carrying a food? I had when I was a kid. I purposely put a few obstacles in front of it to see what it was gonna do (I know, I was a mean kid lol). It’s funny how an ant would still keep on fighting to go back to its nest, still carrying its food. All of us have experienced ups-and-downs on our blogging “career”. The big question is, are you giving up? If you are, then it’s time to read my other post “Wanna be a great blogger? Be a turtle!“ - Teamwork
Ever felt like being alone in blogging? That’s what friends are for! When a food is too big to be carried by an ant, the other ants come and help. It’s good to share the burden with someone. Someone who shares the same vision as you. That’s what we are all here for! We understand each other and we understand how hard it is to keep on blogging especially when things get tough! Connect with other bloggers! Share your personal thoughts and treat them as you treat your real life friends (well we are all real, it’s just that we are miles away from each other and have our own personal life!)
The book of Proverb closes this section with:
How long, you sluggard, will you lie there? When will you rise from your sleep? A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to relax, and your poverty will come like a robber, and your need like an armed man!
Learn from the ants! Don’t be lazy and start preparing for your blog’s future NOW!
Comments are closed.