If you guys are starting a new blog or any creative pursuit, it is essential to have the right mindset. There will be many obstacles in the way, but having a clear mindset can ask as the North star and guide you in the right direction. And this is probably the most important difference between a successful and novice blogger.

Let’s talk about the mindset of a successful blogger. What does that look like? And how can you set yourself up for success by getting into the right mindset?

❓ Know your WHY

Knowing your “Why” is one of the most essential pieces of advice I can offer you if you plan on starting a blog or any new endeavor. It sounds a bit cliche, but it matters. Think about the overarching vision for your life and your career and determine how this project fits into that long-term vision. Try to find out:

What’s your endgame?

Why do you want to embark on this journey?

Maybe you’re passionate about a topic, and you want to share that passion with an audience. Maybe you want to start a business that allows you to live with a little more freedom and flexibility in your lifestyle. Or, hey, maybe you just want to earn more money, which is perfectly legitimate if that’s something that truly drives you.

🚀 Your motivation is the primary driver

Whatever your motivation, keep it in mind to keep you moving forward even when things get difficult. Whenever you run into an obstacle, you can give yourself a boost by thinking back to the reason you started in the first place.

🧘Your discipline will be as important as motivation

Motivation is essential, but the more important thing is compounding that internal motivation with a healthy dose of discipline. You’re not going to be super motivated all the time. That’s just reality. Inspiration often comes in waves. One day you’re super excited and just ready to take on the world. The next day you feel like you’re not making any progress, and you just want to stay in bed. That’s normal. The solution again is discipline. Commit to working on your blog and making tangible progress towards your goals every single day, even when you don’t feel particularly motivated. This commitment, this habitual progress, is truly what separates world-class performers from the rest.

Stephen King famously said: “Amateurs sit and wait for inspiration. The rest of us just get up and go to work.”

If you’re just getting started, this mindset stuff might feel a little off the wall, a little tangential, but the fact is, most blogs fizzle out long before they’ve had a chance to prosper. There’s a lot of competition out there, and the odds are fundamentally stacked against you, but when you’re working with the right mindset, it’s much easier to make everything else fall into place.

🛑 Why do most blogs fail

If you look at all the unsuccessful blogs, you will notice a common reason for failure. Failure comes when you stop executing. Look, you may not have as much traffic as you want or as much influence as you want, or as much revenue as you want, but those things can always be improved. You, Only fail if you give up and quit. So if you can start with a strong sense of internal motivation and follow through with discipline and habit in your execution, you will be unstoppable.

🤑What if your motivation is moneyWhile we’re on the topic of mindset, I should also mention that if money is one of your motivations, your blog is going to be a business, and it deserves to be treated like one with any new business. They’re going to be ups and downs and plenty of setbacks, and it’s going to take a good deal of time and effort to grow, so make sure you’re prepared when you start a blog. What you’re doing is building a media company in a media company needs a business model. In most cases, your blog is not the product. What you’re selling, what you’re charging money for is some other product or service, ad-space, consulting services, a book, a course, or a physical product of some kind. When you look at it from that perspective, a blog isn’t all that different from any other business.

❌ Avoid the wrong way to monetizing your blog.

On a related note, it’s helpful to think of your revenue model not as “monetizing your blog” but as providing a valuable product or service that improves the lives of your customers or clients. It’s a subtle distinction, but it makes all the difference in growing your business because it shifts your focus from lining your own pockets to providing something of value that people are actually willing to pay for. We’ll discuss specific business models in some other blog post, be sure to subscribe if you don’t want to miss out.

✒️ Not a “good” writer?

Perfection is the killer of creativity.

The last mindset thing I want to discuss is for those of you who don’t consider yourselves good writers, this is a mental block that keeps many people from getting started. Look, maybe you’re not the best writer. Maybe you suck, but so did every other writer when they first started. The only way to get better at anything is to consistently practice and work on mastering your craft. Ask any well-known blogger, and they’ll likely tell you that they’re embarrassed by their earliest blog posts. In a few years, you will be, too. And that’s OK. Again, the best way to improve your writing is to write.

So the key points that you should keep in mind before starting a blog:

Know your WHY.

Be disciplined to work regularly.

Treat your blog as a business.