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Blogging: The second toughest marriage you’ll experience
Anyone who has been in a long-term relationship and married, understands that being a husband or wife comes with a great deal of responsibility. Along with deciding who keeps their clothes where, and how each partner prefers to have their socks balled, is the implicit understanding that the relationship needs a number of things to make it work.
Without compromise on both sides, a healthy dose of passion, loyalty, time and investments of all kinds, marriages rarely succeed. Because of this, it’s understood that marriage can be tough, even while it remains one of our most celebrated and appreciated institutions. Some friends of mine recently celebrated their Ruby wedding anniversary, and it got me to thinking about relationships overall, and the relationship we have with our blogs in particular.
It may seem a bit of a curve ball when I compare marriage with blogging, but bear with me and I’ll show you how the two things share a large number of similarities. Because blogging has been going on for a number of years now, it has become established in the same way as other more traditional marketing tools, and so now has the credibility of an international institution.
Instead of being regarded as a transient activity, the longevity of blogging has now given it some kudos, marking it out as a platform which is definitely here to stay.
Like marriage, many people approach blogging with some trepidation. Initially, we don’t know what to expect and feel wary about being trapped in a long-term commitment. We feel excited about the prospect of embarking on a new journey, but also concerned about how much we will need to give of ourselves to make things work.
When we start blogging, everything is tinted with the rose-colored glow of newness and excitement, but we soon realize that blogging, like marriage, takes far more work to succeed than we anticipated.
The following tips work for both marriage and blogging – feel free to apply them to either in order to make the most of your long-term relationship…
Give it time each day
Every blog, like marriage, needs a little investment, each and every day. The most successful blogs are the ones that have a committed person behind them, writing articles on a regular basis, checking in and making sure that the site is getting enough attention. There is nothing more frustrating for a customer than becoming attached to a blog and then having to wait for a long time to see the next article or update. Out of date blogs are like neglected spouses – they get lonely, stop working on your behalf to support you, and soon fall by the wayside.
In the same way as you tell your partner that you love them each day, so it’s worth investing a small amount of time each day to your blog, to undertake basic management such as clearing spam or responding to comments, posting on other people’s sites, or keeping a watchful eye out for customer queries and requests.
Be honest
The old adage that honesty is the best policy is true of both marriages and blogging. Just as a partner has a keen eye for when you are skirting around the truth, so a lack of honesty when you deal with your customers will be blatantly apparent.
Be passionate
Passion is one of the best attributes which a great long-lasting marriage can ever ask for, and the same goes for a successful blog. The bets blogs out there are the ones that have a powerhouse of enthusiasm behind them, driving ideas and innovations forward and bringing new creative perspectives and a healthy dose of love to them. Blogging, like any other element of business, takes dedication and hard work.
However, if the blog owner has a real passion for their subject, it becomes easy for them to write great articles, enthuse about their chosen subject of interest, and engage their readers through their knowledge and positive approach.
Do the housework
Just as in a healthy and co-operative marriage, sometimes it’s important when we blog to undertake tasks which we are not fond of, simply to keep things running smoothly. A great example of this comes in the form of housework. Blogs need housework just like homes.
Take some time to shift your spam, check for spelling errors and broken links, clean out your filing system and protect against viruses and other online ‘dirt’ to keep your blog sparkling clean and running at optimum at all times.
No matter how much time you need to spend on the domestic side of your blogging activities, nothing will ever come close to tasks like ironing in terms of soul-destroying boredom, so take heart that things could always be worse!
Commit
The secret to a long and happy marriage is commitment; being prepared to put in time and care for the rest of your lives together. The same applies to blogging – setting up a blog is the first step to a long and happy relationship, which can bring dividends for many years to come.
By entering in to your blogging relationship for the long haul, and being prepared to give your attention, time and affection to your blog is the best technique you can use to make it work for you and your business in the future.
Get some space
All marriages benefit from each partner taking some time out and spending an evening now and then with friends. Similarly, when it comes to blogging successfully, getting space is a great way of seeing things in perspective, understanding how your blog is operating and where you need to go for future strategic direction.
People who spend all of their time on their blog, day and evening, not only lose sight of why they set up their blog in the first place (to support their business and buy free time!) but also run the risk of damaging their real marriage – the most important one!
I really like it! I’ll always appreciate your brief sharing in this awesome stuffs sincerely, this discussion has put light on this topic.
Hey Joel,
I think you really made a great point. It’s true that it takes time, effort, inspiration, passion, housework to ensure both effective and profitable blogging and long-term marriage. As for myself, I’m in the preparation stage of getting married and I think that can also be related to committing oneself to review how the blog is approaching the audience and then ultimately decide on creating a big change like revamping the blog into a better look and focus and which is for me to finally marry. 🙂
Thanks Tyrone makes a lot of sense to me! Good luck with your upcoming nuptials!
Disqus,
Thank you for your message. I am doing my best to reply to all of your questions and because of the huge amount of emails I receive daily I have created a “Frequently Asked Questions” page that answer’s a majority of the common questions here:
http://asknreply.com/index.php?_m=knowledgebase&_a=view
If you ignore this and ask me something I’ve answered, there’s a good chance I will skip your question.
I love helping people, but when my day is made up of helping people one-on-one, it’s not as productive as I could provide a video that could have helped thousands of people. Therefore I have allocated a “special” Q&A video session that I will post on my blog on Wednesday’s at: http://www.tyroneshum.com/questions-answers-sessions/
Here’s how it works: every Tuesday at 10am Sydney time, my V.A. will send me a list of questions which I will personally answer from here. This way I will be able to answer your question personally and also help others at the same time who may have a very similar question.
If you would like a one on one consulting about business outsourcing and automation, please send a request in the subject line “one-on-one consulting” and my V.A. will send you a list of rates and a time to book in.
Thank you and to your lifestyle success,
Tyrone Shum
Coach and Entrepreneur
http://www.tyroneshum.com
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Joel I think you did an excellent job of outlining how much work is required both for marriage and blogging. 🙂 Good thing the rewards for sticking with each can be big enough to make the effort worthwhile.
Thanks Amy. It’s definitely worthwhile 🙂
How accurate!
I think this is such an important post for people who are getting started and don’t realize the real implications of blogging.
This is not a “get in an out” type of profession.
All the points you bring forth in your post are quite accurate.
Thanks for sharing Joel.
Krizia
http://www.WomenEntrepreneursHQ.com
You’re right Krizia, you’re either in or you’re not, it’s not for the half-hearted. Thanks for stopping by.
I don’t think I could neglect my marriage the way I neglect my blog sometimes! Interesting thoughts though.
Haha, true!
Good comparison. Blogging also needs time, focus effort, and most importantly love to nurture it and grow. Without love, I’m sure the marriage will not become successful as we want it to be.
Very true, thanks!
Wow Wonderful Joel, but you are making me laugh and smile! Marriage and blogging. Got to love the similarities. You make a great point here.
You know when I first started blogging I really had no idea what I was getting myself into, but I am loving it. When we get married, many of us have know idea what we are doing and where the road will lead, but in most cases we end up loving the decision we made.
When you refer to house cleaning, will my thought on that is with marriage you can hire a house cleaner. With blogging you can out source some of the duties. No I don’t have a house cleaner and no I don’t out source much, but hey one of these days that is my dream. To out source some of what goes into marriage and some of what goes into blogging.
I got into blogging because I have a lot to share and if I do this right hubby will be able to retire one of these days. Guess blogging is like marriage, you can never tire. LOL Just had to throw that in. Yes, i do know you can sell your blog, like any business.
Thanks again Joel, those sleepless nights really have your mind working great. Keep it up.
Debbie
I didn’t think of that, that’s very true! We do outsource a lot, whether it’s garbage collection, dinners out, car repairs, and so on, there is always a way to reduce your burden.
I’m sure one day you’ll make more than enough for the two of your to live handsomely, you know I’m here to help if you need me!
Never thought of it that way, but I guess your relationship with your readers is something like a marriage. If you constantly “don’t get it” you will ultimately find yourself alone.
That’s a good point, I notice a lot of bloggers trying to imprint their personality (usually by swearing a lot!) and that certainly cuts through your readers into who can get on with you or not.
Love this quote, Joel.
“ust as in a healthy and co-operative marriage, sometimes it’s important when we blog to undertake tasks which we are not fond of, simply to keep things running smoothly. A great example of this comes in the form of housework. Blogs need housework just like homes.”
How true. It is similar to housework – except it is more fun to answer your friend’s posts.
Always enjoy yours.
That’s true. I’m odd though, I like some housework, I can vacuum and wash up all day long if I have to. Sometimes the monotonous routine is just what I need to unwind.
Joel,
Now what about money? My wife and my blog (in the early days) had one thing in common…they spent a lot of my money!
Andrew
P.S. Only kidding – just in case the wife reads this.
Oh yes…another one. ‘Under the thumb’. My wife certainly rules me and sometimes it feels my blog does!
Haha, brilliant! Reminds me of a few times I’m too scared to mention for the same reasons as you were only kidding!
Joel, on second thought – a great analogy, marriage and blogging. Enjoyed reading it, and noticed another thing the two have in common. Don’t prep yourself for the wedding/starting a blog, instead prep yourself for marriage/blogging. And, don’t let yourself get tempted by the sirens of easy (easy happiness in marriage/easy money online), rather stick to the fundamental principles of a love relationship/of running a business.
Good addition Beat, thanks! It’s easy to try to take shortcuts all the time, but they rarely work in anything.
I agree this.. After commited we must want to some space.. Then only we can analyse and understanding.. Though this only idea will get.. Thanks for this great information..
You’re welcome!
Crazy Joel! Marriage and blogging ? You made the analogy and I get it…. both need a lot of work, but it can be as fun as heck!
It’s a strange concept, but hey, I think it works! Thanks Michelle 🙂