Are you a Matured Blogger? Here Is How You Can Tell
Not a single blogger exists that was not at some point an immature blogger. Even the current A-List bloggers started off being immature – the fiercest lion in the jungle was once a cub chasing butterflies.
It is part of the process, before you can become a mature blogger you need to go through the immature stage. You cannot skip this step. You cannot go straight to mature. Blogging is a learn as you go endeavor. At the beginning everything is new and you make mistakes.
You cannot avoid it, but you can be aware of it. First step is to admit you have a problem and only then can you start to heal.
During the two years that I have been blogging I have slowly moved towards maturity. Here are some changes that occur when you become a mature blogger.
You Forget To Check Your Statistics
For the first few months you are addicted to statistics.
How many visitors in the last couple hours? Even though there are never any surprises, its always two new visitors, you check anyway. Two visitors is not a lot but its better than nothing. You get a slight rush from seeing the visitors number increase. Unfortunately what you do not realize is that your mother, who is so proud of you, visits your website at least twice every couple hours.
It has been one hour since you checked your Adsense revenue so you check it again. And again you see the big green $0.00. Everyday and six times a day the zero is waiting to greet you. You know that it is going to be there but you do not care – you need to see it with your own eyes. A nervous goose constantly standing and checking whether her egg has hatched – nothing there but a goose egg.
The mature blogger knows that checking statistics once a day is plenty. And if you are lying in bed and suddenly realize that you forget to check your statistics, no problem, you will check them in the morning.
You Can Delete Content
Of course when you start your blog what you lack most is content. So you write. Driven by enthusiasm and excitement content spews out like ground meat. Every word is precious – the more words the more content.
At the end of your first month you look at the big pile of words and pat yourself on the back. Look at all my words, its amazing that I did all this in a week. Only a squirrel perched on top of his mound of acorns could be happier.
The mature blogger knows that it is not about the amount of words, its about the quality of words. A well crafted four hundred word post is a lot better than a two thousand word vomit. A mature blogger will never hesitate to delete words because he realizes that its not about the amount of words, its about what they say.
For You Three Months is Not A Long Time
The internet sends information at the speed of light. A nobody becomes somebody in less than fifteen minutes. On the internet things go viral – within days a video can go from being viewed by fifteen people to being viewed by millions.
New bloggers assume that everything works this fast on the internet, including their blog’s rise to the top. They believe that all they need to do is create content, let a few people know, and the internet will do the rest. They believe that to start an avalanche all they need to do is to roll a snowball down a mountain and gravity will do the rest.
A new blogger’s typical three month plan:
- Month 1 (pack the snowball) : Create blog, write content.
- Month 2 (start to roll the snowball down the hill): Market blog. Leave comments on other blogs, join forums, tweet all your friends about it. This will put your blog out there and people will notice. They will tell their friends and their friends will tell their friends.
- Month 3 (cheer as your gigantic snowball causes an avalanche): Quit your job and move to Beverly Hills.
Matures bloggers wipe away tears of laughter as they hear these kind of plans from new bloggers. Mature bloggers know better, they think in years not months. They know that just like in the real world, persistence and patience win the day on the internet.
You Are Not Concerned With Fame Or Money
New bloggers are always prepared for the future.
They know exactly what they are going to say after the audience quiets down and Opera Winfrey asks them to tell their story. They know they want to go on a luxury cruise and then want a jet ski for the cottage – not the other way around. They realize that a Manhattan penthouse on fifth avenue is close to shopping but a mansion in Bel-Air is an ideal place to have a olympic size pool.
Fame and money lure many into blogging. They start their blog motivated by the prospect of a pile of money and adoring fans. They work hard and long hours believing that the internet will pay them handsomely for their effort.
The mature blogger know that the internet can’t care less about your efforts. The internet does not owe you a dime. Being hit by the ugly stick of reality, the mature blogger writes posts because they enjoy it, not for some crazy dream of chatting with Opera.
Are You A Mature Blogger?
I admit, I am still have some immaturity left in me. I still check my statistics way more than I really need to and I want a big pool. How about you? Are you a mature blogger?
About the Author
Roman Jelinek from How this Website Makes Money has really matured in the two years since he started his site. Although he will be the first to admit that his addiction to statistics is very hard to outgrow. If you find the article interesting, do take the time to subscribe to his feed. Roman has guest posted for Blogsessive before and you can read his other article here: How a Great Backlink Can Make You An Instant Success
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“Not a single blogger exists that was not at some point an immature blogger.” – So very true. Thanks for the article
It seems that I am currently changing from a immature to a mature blogger.
And u keep using ‘then’ where you sud use ‘than’….just a tip from another amateur blogger
@Matt – You’re most welcome.
@Chirag64 – ‘U‘ are spot on. I ‘sud‘ have paid more attention when I checked the guest post.
Nonetheless the information Roman gave us is excellent and sometimes such mistakes can be overlooked, especially since – like me – he’s not a native English speaker, but still fairs better that many native speakers.
@chirag64 – Thanks for the tip. Now I know the difference.
@Alex – Thanks for making the changes
I can say that I am already a mature blogger but I know even if I a at this stage, I still have much to learn because I believe that life as a blogger is a continuous process of learning.
Well I cant be a mature blogger as I only just started mine but to be honest I am not sure I would ever want fame and fortune just people reading my blog…. or is that the same thing?
I want to be a mature blogger when I grow up!
I’ve been blogging over 10 years but I still want to be famous, in my own way.
Been blogging for about a bit less than a year, i’d say, and would have to categorize myself as a not so mature blogger..although I am trying to get better.
The fine art of writing is slowly but surely coming back to me. After mostly retiring from my dental practice I have taken up my long, lost love for the narrative to and started blogging. It’s great exercise!
Thanks for this interesting post. I have been blogging since 2005 and now offer various services to new bloggers on WordPress.
I would have added a 4th month to your 3 month plan. I would have written: “Wake up. Realize that you still are at 500 unique visitors in Google. Get depressed. Stop blogging or take a break.” I have many clients who arrive with wanting to manage 2 blogs, write 2 posts per day in 2 languages and have these unrealistic dream of becoming famous because what they will say is so awesome. This usually last about a week or two.
I try to get them into reality by sharing what you have written here but they’re too excited about the idea of becoming famous on the Web. They’re gonna prove me wrong. After 3 months, some of these then fall into the 4th month that I’ve mentioned here. They don’t understand the perseverance and determination that blogging requires.
You have to be passionate about sharing information. And whether you have XXXX number of unique visitors in Google should really be secondary to your primary objective – which is to share information about your passion. Keep it simple.
I always love coming to your blog and reading your post.
Great Post!
I totally agree with you, there are so many “succesful blogging stories” in the Internet that creates a fake illusion in many new bloggers, they think that they can become John Chow in the blink of an eye, but if it where so easy, there would be millions of John Chows. It requires strenght of will, a clear vision and tons of passion to success as a blogger.
Greetings from Argentina! Chau!
Awesome post! You made me smile several times thinking back to when I started two years ago. I didn’t get the response I hoped for within those first few months, but the payoff is starting this year with new clients. After two years of a micro-niche real estate blog I have firmly established myself as an expert in the neighborhood. That is a very good thing for a Realtor. I would encourage any newbies to keep with it.
I really liked your comment about the 3-month plan of the common blogger. I am actually getting started on a more professional blog than I am used to, and I wasn’t sure how long to write before going out and hunting down traffic. A month sounds about right. Until then, I’ll keep posting and checking out other blogs such as yours! Thanks for the tips.
Excellent post! I agree with those first 2 months. Isn’t that what you’re supposed to do? I mean, you write stuff, than you try to get it out there…
Cheers, Andrei
Great topic. I’ve just started (about 6 months ago) in becoming actively blogging. I’m still a beginner. What advice do you have in thinking of new topics,etc on a weekly basis?
I’d like to think I am a mature blogger but I still check the stats daily… I just ca’t seem to shake the habit. Maybe I am not mature enough yet?
Im not a mature blogger, I have been blogging for almost three months and I’m very frustrated when I see my statistic very low, but thanks to your post, now its clear to me.
It’s funny how people expect month 3 to simply happen overnight, though for some it just isn’t destined to happen as they get month 2 and, worse yet, month 1 wrong. It is a continuous process as well and I wouldn’t recommend it to those who “just do it for the money”. You have to enjoy writing as well as remain inspired to do it regularly.
Kind regards,
Brent McCoy
BTW: I am currently offering free premium WordPress themes to all my subscribers, so if anyone’s interested please visit my blog.
I’m 56 so I reckon I’m mature.
My fame and fortune dreams are in the past, I blog because I like doing it. I like writing and I enjoy the challenge of trying to get traffic. 
John
Hey Roman,
Wonderful posting with a good stuff & sounds great buddy. It has the effective & useful notes to be followed. I agree with the your informative point outs. Thank you very much for sharing such a great stuff. Keep sharing good stuffs like this.
I have to agree with the part about the amount of content. A blog is much better off with fewer “good” words than it is with a lot of words that are there just to fill the page. At a certain point readers give up on blogs that are too long.
WOHOO…I agree with your first point…
I remember initial days of blogging, I used to check my traffic and adsense stats almost 5-6 times a day..Now it’s one time in 5-6 days…
Its amazing how we all mature over time and when we think back of our old days, its really funny. Like Harsh I used to check stats for like 5 times a day, was too concerned of making money and becoming famous. As time passed by, I guess that excessive enthusiasm has worn out now.
Great Post. Sincerely enjoyed your article. It looks like you have placed a lot of effort into your blog and I need more of these on the net these days. I do not really have a large amount to say in reply, I only wanted to sign up to say great work.
I also agree with your first point. I use to check my analytics every few hours when marketing my business a few years ago. It was becoming so ridiculous that I’d wake up at night and check. Nowadays I check a few times a month at least.
Ouch! That’s gonna hurt for me. But I’ll definitely admit that I am still an immature blogger. Hopefully someday I can write as good as you are. God bless
Thank for the test.
statistics statistics, back then i would jump for joy when i see a new visitor on my site, I would even check the back links from where that visitor came from or the search term that the visitor used to get to my site. Now I still kind of do that but not every chance I get just like I used to.
You are right about the money thing. Most people start blogging because they want money. I really hate the people who blog just for money. Sure, throw up some adsense ads or something, but don’t blog just to make money. Actually post something useful! Just my two cents.