This is one of the saddest and simultaneously most exciting times of my life. I’ve been pumped all week after watching some video clips on Gary Vaynerchuk’s website. For a secular web-based entrepreneur, he’s my hero. He’s passionate, articulate, unique, and he works REALLY hard. Gary has convinced me that my blogs are a failure.
(On some level, I can find fault with all of his advice because it IS secular, after all, and ultimately I can’t condone the kind of obsession with and idolization of “the Hustle” that he has. But I love his passion. Check out any video on his wine video blog to see what I mean.)
I’ve been SO PUMPED this week. I watched several of his videos / presentations and I finally got what I’ve been doing wrong. It’s like the light bulb finally went off. Why this didn’t happen two years ago, I have no idea.
Here’s the secret I’ve been missing:
Find ONE thing you’re most passionate about, write/draw/paint/video really good quality content about it, and network like crazy on blogs, forums, social networks, etc.
Can you believe it? For the past four years, I’ve been so split in my attentions that I’ve never honed in on a niche. It’s one of those things you ALWAYS hear about, and I kept saying to myself, “Yeah, yeah, niche smitch!” I had so many ideas for sites and domains that I never focused on ONE. My efforts were all kinds of flawed.
- I was taking my ideas, buying domains, and starting too many blogs
- I was only blogging on my latest, newest sites
- I was picking my domains and topics based on external circumstances
- I was repeating this cycle over and over and over again (I own 50 domains now)
So you see, it’s been a VERY frustrating process for me. I keep seeing opportunities and I buy the domain before it’s taken by someone else (serious early bird syndrome). But then I don’t have the willpower or interest to keep it going because I’ve invested in an area that’s NOT a primary passion in my life.
The things we love, we make time for. We FIND time for. We do them automatically and without effort. So the goal has been restructured. Despite my failures, I have learned so many lessons about blogging and web marketing that I can’t regret a moment of it.
In fact, a few years back, I actually got a job because of my blogs. So in one respect I can’t call them a failure because they landed me a decent position. On the other hand, I HAVE to call them a failure because they didn’t accomplish my goal: to become independently wealthy writing about my passions.
So it’s time to change. Out with the old process. In with the new. More details to come. And if you want to buy a domain, I may have one to sell.
*This post was originally published on DanielthePoet.com. Please visit the site to leave a comment.