If you had asked me in the beginning where Bodacious Biscuit Love was going to be in 3 years, I wouldn't have been able to answer you. The same holds true when people ask where this blog going or what's the point or what are my plans for this blog over the next few years? Sure, I have some ideas and goals, but I don't have a definite answer to those questions.
A few of the many things Bodacious Biscuit Love has taught me is that success isn't a clear path from point A to point B. Success isn't immediate. And, above all, success isn't just about the final product. Success is about the entire journey, not just the destination.
Last year, I did a little side work for a couple of talented ladies. They have a small home decor business. Both ladies worked hard to fill a tiny shop with their handcrafted goods. Once the shop was up to par, filled, and presentable, they had a grand opening. Lisa and I went. Most of the attendees were friends, family, and coworkers.
In the months following the grand opening, they had no business. They were extremely frustrated. That's when they reached out for help. After meeting with the ladies and thoroughly examining things from a marketing perspective, I compiled a lengthy list of issues. For starters, the only online presence they had was a Facebook page that had sat dormant for months. They had no website. They weren't putting themselves out there. The public didn't know about their shop. There was very little advertising and marketing.
The list goes on.
In short, they went into their business almost completely blind. A shop filled with gorgeous handcrafted goods wasn't going to attract the masses. They weren't going to have non-stop traffic in their shop and be flooded with custom orders. Why? They had skipped over a bunch of important steps. Lots of them. They failed to realize that success takes time. And, when you reach your destination, that's not the time to exhale. Success has to be maintained and that takes a lot of work and a ton of hours.
Each of these many steps were crucial to their overall success.
I started this blog in July of 2015, but I didn't make it public until almost a year later. Since then, I've had to give much thought to which direction I want to lean towards. I've also had to ask myself a lot of questions. What will I offer? What resources can I provide for my audience? What will increase my audience and keep them coming back? How can I keep the content fresh and relevant? How can I eventually monetize my blog?
The successful bloggers that I know, and keep up with almost everyday, are ones who started out exactly where I am. They worked hard. They wrote every day. They found their niche. They built their audience. They spent hours and hours writing and putting their work out there on various social media streams. They treated the journey as if it were a paying job when in fact they weren't receiving a penny for the time invested. They went through the trials and tribulations and growing pains.
You can't just create a blog site, write a few posts and expect to become an overnight success.
It's kind of like the apple I held in my hand yesterday shortly before I started the process of creating a new dog treat recipe for this week.
Yes, I found inspiration in a single apple.
I sat at the kitchen table. Apple in hand. I knew I wanted to create a dog treat recipe that had fresh, grated apple included. My brain was racing. I was thinking of other ingredients and measurements of each.
The first batch didn't come out right. I wasn't happy with the final product. Today, I made some adjustments, tried again, and ended up with a tasty finished product.
The homemade dog treats came out incredible and our kids loved them!
I want to take this blog far. I want to build an audience. I want to eventually make some money from it and get involved with BlogPaws. I want to reach my destination. I know that's going to involve a lot of work, dedication, and require a lot of hours.
The journey won't be easy, but I'm ready.
No comments:
Post a Comment