For your listening pleasure as you read:
My ex was listening to it earlier and it stayed with me and became my mental background music for the whole day, so it’s a fitting match for this post. And yeah, I live with my ex, but not like how you think. It’s complicated. My internet girlfriend (who’s not really my girlfriend) thinks that’s pretty cool. Anyway…
At the base of the mountain
When you decide to market your business with a blog, you are like a climber at the base of a mountain. The mountain seems indomitable. But then something extraordinary happens that doesn’t seem extraordinary at all.
You take your first step.
And then you take the next.
And so on.
The mountain tells you everything you need to know to conquer it: where to step, where to place your hands, where to rest, where to ponder a change of route. It presents itself to you, and you respond. You may not think of these moments as victories because the only Victory you’re concerned with is reaching the peak. But if you stopped placing one foot in front of the other, the final victory would not happen.
A blog is much the same. You take that first step: you get a blog.
Climbing the mountain
Alright, now what? Despite all the wonderful advice online about what to do, the blog itself will tell you much in a self-evident way: there are spaces for content, so content must be created. The blog appears a certain way, and if you want it to look different, you need a way to change it so that it’s closer to your ideal (I recommend Headway for that).
In order to create content, you have think about a lot of things you may not have before. Things which help you sharpen and strengthen the very definition and purpose of your business. You didn’t expect to do this, it probably felt like an obstacle the mountain threw your way to prevent you from reaching the top. But having done it you’re better for it. As the Zen saying goes: the obstacle is the path.
Blogging the mountain
This happened this morning as I spoke with one my blog consulting clients over the phone–she really feels she now has a better understanding of what to say and how to say it on her blog, which is going to help her attract the clients she wants for her business. In order to accomplish a seemingly simple surface task–writing her services page content–she had to work backwards from that and rethink & redefine her product and her offer. The mountain told her she had to partly retrace her route and take a different way. If she didn’t do this, she wouldn’t get what she really wanted: a blog that attracts the right people for her business.
I find it immensely powerful that blogging does not just help you market your business, it helps you make your business better (and by extension, your entire life).
When you first create a blog, it’s blank. You need to fill it with stuff. What stuff? Stuff that makes your business go. Stuff that attracts the right people and helps them decide if your business will help them climb their own mountains. It sounds so simple when I say it like that and use words like “stuff,” but really it’s much more involved than that. Because to work on this is to get to the heart of matters: why are you in business, for whom, and how will you negotiate the path?
These are deep questions. Their answers speak to the very meaning we make out of our existence on this chunk of dirt hurtling through infinite space.
Reaching the sky
You have to keep your eye on the final goal, but in order to get there you also have to watch how you take each step along the way. Climbing a mountain is like that: you constantly shift your attention back and forth from where you’re going to what’s right in front of you. Marketing your business with a blog is like that, too. You’re constantly keeping the pinnacle in view as you figure out where to place your footing for the next crucial step.
And before you know it, you stand at the peak.
Ready for the next, taller mountain.
I must say I have become somewhat discouraged about blogging because it seems I am one voice in a cacophony of talkers, writers, etc. I have appreciate your advice and like the mountain metaphor.
It can be intimidating, but remember one thing: everybody started at the
beginning, at the bottom of the mountain, with nothing. All those “big
names”? They started at the same place as you. The wonderful thing about
“everybody” doing something is that most of them will suck at it. That means
anyone willing to put in the extra effort can rise above. I have been doing
this since 1999 and I've seen it happen over and over.
Similar to climbing a mountain, it is a good idea to seek the advice of those who have successfully established a blog. This lets you have a clear understanding of the things you should avoid and it also helps you form your own path to the mountain we call blogging
Now why didn't I think to say that? Good idea. Everybody subscribe to my
blog NOW.
Thank you so much for your wonderful advice. It is true, a long journey starts with the first step, and although marketing a blog can look overwhelming at first, we have to keep our sight in the final goal. Sometimes we can get distracted with doubts and lack of confidence, but the antidote is keep moving forward, one step after the other, exactly the same as a climber wants to conquer the mountain!
Thanks again for your post.
You're welcome, I'm glad you were inspired a little by it.
Michael,
I am fairly new to blogging regularly but have thought about it since I heard it 6 or 7 years ago. I appreciate your encouragement and analogies about it being like a mountain. Its like building a pyramid, one brick at a time. I write about what I think my clients would find interesting and useful. it does need to go somewhere right? Like any building, the foundation is key, and if laid down properly, the building will go up and look majestic in the end.
Marc the building analogy is also a great one: how can we possibly build something without a plan? The end goal of the plan tells you what little things you need to be doing RIGHT NOW.
I hear you. I'm climbing that blogging mountain but it seems foggy up here and lonely. So I'm going to read your blog and see what you have to say. Thanks.
Ha, no need to be lonely! Actively engage with others via social media, your own blog, and in real life, and before you know it you'll be at the top of that mountain.
Great metaphor (and I like the song too). Perfect Sunday read – thank you!
My pleasure! Thanks so much for the feedback.
Great analogy, Michael,
it certainly feels like a mountain to me. Whenever I reach a new peak, I just see how much further away I’m from the “real” peak.
It’s crucial to think in baby steps, and only worrying about the next one while keeping your eyes on the big price – your blogging goal.
Thanx for the poetry !
Mountains are always good analogies for overcoming obstacles and persisting through hard work.
Interesting. I've been doing the SEO for my site and I think the marketing your blog is very similar. You have days of doubts, but if you being patient and continue to work hard at it, it will show in the results eventually.
I love the mountain metaphor, maybe because I also like hiking on mountains. I especially like this part: “Climbing a mountain is like that: you constantly shift your attention back and forth from where you’re going to what’s right in front of you.” I think finding the right balance between planning and staying in the present moment is crucial.
Really enjoyed the post. I often have trouble seeing the long term vision for my business, and it's what's held me back in the past. I've started to write goals down now so that I have a weekly, monthly and yearly goal chart, so that I can take steps towards the long term goal and give myself a better shot of actually hitting it.
Great post here, and in terms of tackling the goal and breaking it into pieces that is something we all have to remind ourselfs time to time!
You are a very inspiring person. I love the mountain metaphor and, as I contemplate starting my own blog, you help nudge my intentions and initial first step. I have been checking out themes and I liked what I saw on Headway. Thank you
Whats the name of that song?
Really good advice. I got into blogging with absolutely no idea what I was doing or even what I was trying to achieve….in fact you could say I was waiting for the mountain to come to me…..wrong!!! Before you go climb the mountain you should take at least one class on how to climb
I don't think you're the only who was waiting for the mountain to come to
them. Hopefully some folks will recognize themselves in that comment and it
will spark an inspiration in them to begin the climb.
it's nice to see a verry good comparation with blogging and climbing a mountain, you're surprised how much things are the same