17 Success Habits of Pro Bloggers

Most bloggers, including myself, do most of their writing at home surrounded by hundreds of distractions. Compared to the average entrepreneur that has their own office, bloggers need to implement success habits just to be able to make it through the day.

Let’s go ahead and get right into the first habit.

#1 Pro Bloggers Exercise Self-Control Throughout the Day

Beyond keeping your emotions in check, here are three more tips for exercising self-control through your day…

• Check email once every three hours – There are few things that will suck the life out of your day like email. Schedule a time to check your email in your planner. After you check it, then close it out and be done with it for another three hours.
• Keep all social media windows closed – Social media is a great tool for promoting your blog, but it can easily pull you into to an endless scroll of updates. Just like with email, schedule your social media time.
• Program your phone to only allow calls from spouse and kids – My iPhone has a nice setting on it called “Do Not Disturb.” With one swipe, I can limit my phone calls to my wife and my children’s school. Any other phone call can wait when I am working on my blog.

If you can eliminate the disruption of email, social media, and phone calls, then you will double your productivity.

#2 Pro Bloggers Have an Optimistic and Positive Attitude

In order to make it through your first year of blogging, you need to have a firm belief that you are going to be successful. With a business, you can launch your site and start making sales through Google Adwords that same day. In contrast, it usually takes six months from the moment a new post is published until you can even find out if it will get any traffic from Google.

If you ever feel demotivated, then imagine how it will feel when your blog is bringing in more money than you could possibly spend. In addition, try to read 5 to 10 positive quotes to start every day.

If you can believe, you can achieve.

#3 Pro Bloggers Are Open-Minded

Steven Covey referred to this as sharpening the saw. As a blogger, you need to always be open to learning new techniques and processes that may be better than what you are currently doing now.

Here are a few ways I sharpen my saw…

• I Listen to Podcasts – My phone is always loaded with new podcast episodes covering marketing techniques. Instead of listening to the radio in the car, I am absorbing wisdom from podcasts.
• I Sign Up to Online Courses – When I wanted to learn how to podcast, I signed up to an online course taught by the master of podcasting, John Lee Dumas. This saved me from having to learn by falling on my face over and over again.
• I Read Blogs – No matter what industry you are in, there are going to be 7 to 10 incredible blogs that will be worth following. My personal success is largely based on coming up with a system based upon what I learned by studying 74 of the most visited blogs across every major industry.

These three practices have guided me down the path of constant and never ending improvement.

#4 Pro Bloggers Have a Long-Term Plan

As I mentioned earlier… In regards to Google results, the work you do today will reward you six months down the road. Pro bloggers think long term.

They set quarterly, yearly, and five year goals. Here are a couple of questions to help plan for the future.

Where do you want your blog to be a year from now?

• Monthly Visitors?
• Email Subscribers?
• Revenue? Profit?

What actions do you need to take to achieve each of these goals?

If you do not think you have time for coming up with detailed goals, then take a moment to listen to the results of this study. Harvard surveyed their MBA program graduates as they were graduating. They found that…

• 84% had no specific goals.
• 13% had goals but they were not written down.
• 3% had clear written goals.

The 13% of the class that had goals were making twice as much as the 84% without any goals. The 3% of the class that had taken the time to write down goals were earning ten times as much as all of the other 97% of MBA graduates.

When the pen hits the paper it can literally change your destiny.

#5 Pro Bloggers Take Calculated Risks

T.S. Eliot said..

“Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go.”

Here are a few risks that I have taken that other bloggers may relate to…

• I started a blog using my name and let all the important people in my network know. Even though I was worried that people might think I am an awful writer, I knew with practice that I would get better.
• I spent six months creating an online course to sell on my blog. The other bloggers in my space all had an online course. To create my course, it meant I had to sacrifice time being spent on other areas of my business. I was nervous the whole way, but knew it was worth the risk.
• I started a podcast. Everything about podcasting was foreign to me, and I dedicated another six months learning the ins and outs before I launched my podcast. 

I have a famous quote on the wall next to my computer that Zig Ziglar was famous for always saying..

“If you want something you’ve never had, you must be willing to do something you’ve never done.”

This is a constant reminder to me that I need to continue trying new things in business and in life.

#6 Pro Bloggers Simplify Their Processes

Bruce Lee once said…

“It is not the daily increase, but a daily decrease. Hack away at the inessentials.”

This essentially means to stop wasting your time on actions that do not give you big results.

As time goes by, pro bloggers are able to identify the actions that give them the biggest results. Here are three ways I keep things simple..

• I focus on achieving only three big goals every 90 days. I make a big list each quarter and narrow it down the the three goals that will make me the most money.
• I use a small sticky note to plan my action items for the following day. This limits my space so that I do not overwhelm myself with a big list that can never be completed.
• I use a Google spreadsheet to plan my posts. This allows me to place all the information that I need on one simple spreadsheet that can be accessed from any computer with an internet connection.

#7 Pro Bloggers Embrace and Learn from Discomfort

I have a quote on my wall from Rocky that I read each day when I wake up or hit a bump in the road.

“Let me tell you something you already know. The world ain’t all sunshine and rainbows. It’s a very mean and nasty place and I don’t care how tough you are it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain’t about how hard ya hit. It’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward. How much you can take and keep moving forward. That’s how winning is done!”

We are all going to face obstacles in business and life. Embrace them, learn from them, and keep moving forward.

#8 Pro Bloggers Never Give Up in the Face of Struggle

Eight years ago, I was lying in a hospital bed after having a code blue because the artery in my leg had come open while I was having test after test done on my body. The week before that my wife helped my dissolve all of my businesses because I was no longer mentally competent to do it myself. Even at that lowest point, I did not give up.

It was a struggle, but I was eventually able to become a father, start a business, and become a pro blogger.

The only way you can ever fail is by giving up.

#9 Pro Bloggers Spend Time with the Right People

Reach out to other bloggers and share ideas. This can be through a Facebook group, a MeetUp, or a conference.

When I wanted to start a podcast, I did not know a single person that was podcasting. I joined Podcasters Paradise and started to make connections with the other members of their Facebook group. No matter what question I had, there was always someone in the group that had an answer.

I also went to the big conference for Podcasters and was able to meet and spend time with many of the people that I made connections within the group. Meeting the right people gave me the framework that led to my instant success as a podcaster.

#10 Pro Bloggers Show Appreciation and Gratitude for What they Have

Here’s another great quote from Zig Ziglar that really sums up the importance of gratitude…

“Gratitude is the healthiest of all human emotions. The more you express gratitude for what you have, the more likely you will have even more to express gratitude for.”

Whether you are religious or just spiritual, it is important to show gratitude for everything that you have at the beginning and end of each day.

#11 Pro Bloggers Accept and Embrace Change

In my twenties before I got sick, I was the CEO of a multi-million dollar company for several years. During this time, I quickly identified our company grew the most when a market shift caused a big decrease in revenue. When we lost something that we relied on, we were forced to change. In that change, we grew and evolved every single time.

Over the last decade pro bloggers have been faced with yearly Google algorithm updates, the rise of mobile traffic, and the emergence of social media. Each of these changes offered a major opportunity to the bloggers that embraced them.

#12 Pro Bloggers Have a Great Work Life Balance

When you have a job it has a definite start and end time each day. As a blogger, you can blog all day and night long. It is important for you to plan your work and your life, or your life will be sat aside.

I make a point to spend every evening and weekend having fun with my wife and two boys. Without them, it would all be for nothing.

#13 Pro Bloggers Want Other Bloggers to Succeed

I have been fortunate to be part of several great mastermind groups over the past two decades. In each of these mastermind groups, we all sincerely wanted eachother to reach greater levels of success. If I know a blogger that just tripled his revenue, then I am going to be able to learn from him and apply it to my blog. Success breeds success.

#14 Pro Bloggers Have a Definite Purpose Behind What They Do

When I set out to start my blog, I asked myself…

Why do I want to have a successful blog?

At the time, I was having success with my boutique marketing services firm, but I wanted to be able to reach more people beyond just my clients. Over the past three years, my posts have been read by millions. My about page, which is 5000 word bio of my comeback story, has been read by over 100,000 people in last year. I get several emails each day from readers who are inspired by my journey to find success again.

#15 Pro Bloggers Share Graciously With Others

Every once in awhile I get asked…

Why do share your secrets with everyone?

I am big believer in the law of abundance. This is the simple fact that there is an unlimited source of everything that we need or could ever want. The more I share, the more I get back.

My podcast and blog posts allow me to form relationships with people that will eventually become customers of my course and clients for marketing services. If I was afraid to share my secrets, then I would have very little to share.

#16 Pro Bloggers Accept Responsibility for Their Actions

At some point, you are going to make a mistake on one of your blog posts. Every once in awhile, no matter how thorough I am, a blog post of mine will leave something important out. About twice a month, I get an email from a reader who lets me know I did not do a great job of representing a specific topic.

I could stand my ground and let them know why I am right, or I could ask them how I could make the post better. I choose the later. I even go as far as offering them the chance to write a few paragraphs for me, which many end up doing.

The end result is a better post and having a new raving fan for life.

#17 Pro Bloggers Never Make Excuses

When you run your own blog, the buck stops with you. Most pro bloggers start out blogging while they are working a full time job or raising a large handful of kids. With all of this going on, it is real easy to make the excuse of not having time to get around to posting on a consistent basis.

Always remember what Ben Franklin once said…

“He that is good for making excuses is seldom good for anything else.”

Before we wrap it up, let’s review the 17 success habits of pro bloggers.

#1 Pro Bloggers Exercise Self-Control Throughout the Day

#2 Pro Bloggers Have an Optimistic and Positive Attitude

#3 Pro Bloggers Are Open-Minded

#4 Pro Bloggers Have a Long-Term Plan

#5 Pro Bloggers Take Calculated Risks

#6 Pro Bloggers Simplify Their Processes

#7 Pro Bloggers Embrace and Learn from Discomfort

#8 Pro Bloggers Never Give Up in the Face of Struggle

#9 Pro Bloggers Spend Time with the Right People

#10 Pro Bloggers Show Appreciation and Gratitude for What they Have

#11 Pro Bloggers Accept and Embrace Change

#12 Pro Bloggers Have a Great Work Life Balance

#13 Pro Bloggers Want Other Bloggers to Succeed

#14 Pro Bloggers Have a Definite Purpose Behind What They Do

#15 Pro Bloggers Share Graciously With Others

#16 Pro Bloggers Accept Responsibility for Their Actions

#17 Pro Bloggers Never Make Excuses

The strategies and techniques may change from year to year, but these 17 success habits are timeless. Make them part of who you are and you will be destined to go further than you could possibly imagine.

This post was inspired by a slideshow on the 17 ways successful people approach life by the Eliv8Group. The original slideshow, without the spin on how bloggers use them, can be viewed below.