Standing on the edge of the cliff, you look down and see the crashing waves beneath. The roar and spray of the water as it collides with the rocks. The wind gusting on your face, pulling at your hair, all the while your heart is galloping in your chest.
And then you hear a whooping voice. Low at first, then as moments passed it gets louder. Louder still until the source passes you. A figure just jumped off the cliff. Another followed. And another. And another.
Meanwhile you’re there stuck at the top never knowing what it feels to jump off it.
The First Fall
This is what it feels like to others starting a blog. They’re terrified of countless things, even before they try it out.
“What if they don’t like it?” “What if I suck?” “What if all my time and effort goes for naught?”
All these What Ifs. The fear is understandable. Trust me; everyone was a bit shaken when they decided to start their blog. But you can lessen this nervousness by doing a few things.
Scout the Cliffs
Similar to jumping off a cliff, the first thing you need doing is scout it if it’s safe. You’ve already seen a few people jumped off, you’ve seen them hit the water, and you’ve seen them swim back ashore.
This is akin to scouting your audience.
What sort of people do you need to attract for your blog to be successful. And further than that, do these people have the potential to be marketed? Having completed that, proceed to the next step.
The Jump
On the way down you have a great perspective of the view below. You see the problems that others are struggling with. Maybe there’s a guy who jumped too far and has trouble swimming back.
So identify problems in your niche.
You can do this by brainstorming. List what services aren’t being offered yet. If you’ve ran out of ideas, ask help from friends and family members. After that, go online and visit experts on your niche. Scroll down below and see what their audiences are complaining about.
Maybe they’re upset about the delivery system. Or maybe the content that they see is being rehashed and nothing new is being offered.
Swimming Back
Now that you’re in the water it’s time for the real work. Having listed all the problems that is surfacing in your niche’s community, find solutions on how to address that problem.
To speed you on your way, here’s an advice.
Stay on that blog where people are complaining about something. Obviously their complaints will mirror or will be related to the blog posted. Sift through all the comments and find healthy conversations about the problem.
Most often than not people already has an idea on how to solve an issue. It’s just isn’t complete yet. It’s like a puzzle. Each person has a piece. As the conversation grows these pieces will be chuck in single a place. It may not be complete yet, but the whole thing is shaping up. It’s up to you to fill in the spaces. And having jumped off a cliff you have the advantage of seeing it from above. What’s missing and where? Which side is near completion?
It will only be a matter of time before you connect all of it together. So jump. But before you do make sure you already have an idea where to land and where to swim back.
