The Importance of Gaining Momentum

Starting a blog is hardwork. You spend several hours writing articles, generating a design, then you look at your stats to see a measly 3 or 4 visitors (and one of those is yourself). It is during the first few months that the majority of bloggers give up. It is a shame because if you can get over the initial difficulties, the slow progress of your blog can be expedited as you build up momentum. This article is based on blogging, but the importance of momentum can also be applied to other aspects of our lives.

Where do We gain momentum From?

1. Enthusiasm to Write

The more we get absorbed in a project the more knowledgeable and enthusiastic we can become. If we take a break of several days, it can be hard to get back into the flow of writing and creating content. If you get into a routine of writing an article everyday, this creates a rhythm which helps your writing. Sometimes it can feel hard to think of new titles, but if you really get into a niche it is surprising where inspiration can come from.

2. Cumulative Effect of Links

In the beginning, we may need to spend a lot of time generating interest and getting links to our blog. This can be through commenting, networking with other bloggers and writing guest posts on other blogs. These tasks can create a steady stream of traffic, but in the beginning it feels only a trickle. However, the more time we spend blogging, the more inbound links that are created. Although these links may have a small individual effect; they become more significant as their number increases. It is like adding a new pebble to a collection each day. Initially, the pebbles seem very insignificant, but over time the collection becomes quite impressive.

If you persevere for long enough there comes a stage when even if we did no more self promotion, there would be a constant flow of external referrals.

3. The Tipping Point.

In the beginning, it is necessary to promote our blog; if people tell you differently they are either lying or very lucky. However, if you can get to a certain level of subscribers and regular readers, there will be sufficient interest for others to promote the blog for you. If you blog is good enough people will start linking without asking. It is at this stage that the blog really generates its own momentum. Also, as you become more successful you generate many favourable advantages. For example, people may be willing to write guest posts. People will look upon you as an authority in your niche.

4. Google

Generally speaking, most bloggers will get a high % of traffic from search engine referrals. In the beginning this is pretty miserly, because you have a low number of links, poor page rank and only a few articles. However, over time, search engine traffic should continue to climb. The more articles you have, the more search traffic you will generate. Also if your inbound links continues to increase then your articles will get higher search engine positions as well. Keep adding a new article each day and you increase the number of entry points for your blog.

5. Exploit Your Strengths

When you begin blogging you have no idea what will work. Sometimes we can be surprised by the kind of article that ‘takes off’ and goes viral, whereas other articles generate little interest. As your blog develops you learn what works and what creates an effective use of time.

6. Steep Learning Curve.

In the beginning we are fumbling around in the dark; every aspect of blogging requires a learning curve. We need to learn a bit of design, writing skills, seo skills, blog promotion e.t.c. Basically, we need to be a jack of all trades, and it can be a time consuming process. However, over time we learn efficient methods of blogging. We develop a sense of what kind of effort will give the most return. For example, after a while you learn how to choose the best keywords, depending on what has worked in the past.

7. Momentum and Your Blog

This post is really meant as encouragement. Sometimes the extra 20% effort can lead to an 80% increase in results. If you are struggling to generate momentum in your blogging, think how you can give it more focus and intensity. If you have several blogs, it might be advisable to do one well, rather than several.

Also this advice does not need just apply to bloggers, it can apply in many aspects of life. The key is that if you give something 100% of your attention you can generate a powerful momentum.