How to stop feeling like a small fish

Guest post from Mariam Cisse:

When I started blogging a few months ago, I was idealizing all the “big fishes” like Grant, Darren, Yaro or John. I wanted to become one of them, too. That’s what probably the most bloggers have in mind, when they start a blog.

By being hypnotized by their success – which was my dream – I began to blog about the same things they were blogging about. So I probably had an ordinary “me too” blog. Fact is that I had no idea of what I was talking about. Fact is that as a few days had passed, I realized that I was only a small fish in the big ocean. And I was feeling as such. Having that realized, I decided to change a couple of things and stop feeling and thinking like a small fish.

As I mentioned in a comment on “How to ease the pressure of blogging” on ProBlogger, I reconsidered my behavior, my motivation and also the topic of my blog, during Christmas time last year. I re-launched my blog, started to implement the things I have learned but flouted and actually stopped feeling like a small fish. Here I want to share with you, what made this happen:

Know what you’re talking about

Setting up a blog, is just a matter of minutes. And you actually don’t have to have any technical knowledge. But when it comes to your topic, you should have an idea of what you are talking about. You’ll probably never become known as an “expert”, when you blog about things you actually don’t know. Like, make money online when you’ve never made even a dollar.

Talking about a topic you know and you are good at, makes you feel more confident. But don’t forget to position yourself the right way. The Article “Positionierung: Wie du dir einen Namen machst” (can be translated) may help you with this point. Being confident shines through your writing and your audience will notice that

Dress for the moment

Unless your blog is just for fun, you should spend some time on thinking about how you’re dressed while blogging. Some of you may now think “Are you crazy?! Who the hell is interested in how I’m dressed?” or “Are you kidding? I’m sitting at home and nobody sees me!”

But I’m not talking about them. I’m talking about YOU and how you can stop feeling like a small fish! Do you really think your productivity and efficiency is higher, when you sit in front of your desk as if you just came out of the bed?! Being dressed like running a business, forces you to think and act in a different way.

Stay organized

I’m not going to tell you, what exact steps you should take in order to organize your content. Grant has a lot of good posts covering this particular topic. Check the series “Blog Content Plan”. What I want to say is, keep your desk clean and have your posts and stats printed out. Having them handy offline, sorted by category in a folder, makes you recap your content quicker and easier. Not being fluted by paperwork and other stuff gives you the feeling of having control over everything that happens in your business. And isn’t that that a fact, that makes you feel bigger than before?

Take a break

Every business owner has opening hours. Don’t be a hamster in the wheel. As soon as you’ve organized yourself and your blog, you should be able to see some free space in your schedule. Take a day off, or go for a walk. Go and have a nice dinner with your dear. Do something, but don’t sit in front of your desk 24/7!

I decided that Sunday is my “day off” (though I’m writing this post on a Sunday…) and only to do things that I want to do. Like endless chats with my family and friends, go to the theatre, watching a musical or reading. Sometimes I do things related to blogging, like commenting. But I don’t see Sunday as my working day.

The point is it eases the pressure of blogging. Having the opportunity to decide that you want to have a day off whenever you want, and actually doing it, made me really stop feeling like a small fish.

In my opinion, feeling like a small fish is a good indicator to think about you and your business. You can be a big fish! All you have to do is believe in you and get rid of some bad habits. In order to become big, you have to think big!

In short:

Know what you’re talking about. Don’t copy someone. If you don’t feel comfortable with the chosen topic, drop it and pick the one you can handle. But be sure to write something that adds value. You also should think about your position.
Dress like you’re running a business. Stop sitting in front of desk in a sweat suit. You’re doing business not exercises! Look at your boss for example…
Stay organized. Check the Blog Content Plan for more information.
Set up working hours. Do yourself a favor and take a break. Your blog is not the only thing you should care about!

These few things really changed my former point of view. Since I re-launched my blog I don’t think about being a small fish anymore. I’m maybe not the biggest one, but I’m not a small fish!

How do feel about this topic? Do you have any strategies that made you stop thinking small?

Mariam

Good to hear that you like it.

You're right. Especially the first two points! It al starts with your mindset. If you're not into it doing business and taking action each and every day, even when the steps are as little as baby footsteps in the sand, it doesn't matter what you are wearng in front your desk.

Absolutely right!

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Abohadi

Great Post. It provides me with useful tips.

The most important ones for me are:

1. Knowing what you're talking about.

2. Adding value to your blog readers.

I can add the following to feel like a big fish:

1. Have a mindset about your blogging business.

2. Better to step forward everyday even slowly than to stop and give up.

3. Communicate best with your readers, list subscribers and even your competitors.

4. You must a day to stop but to think, imagine and evaluate what you're doing so that you can improve your business.

Thank's for your comment.

I agree that at the beginning it's really thrilling. Learning all the new things, meeting other newbies and so on. And yes, you can learn a lot from both communities you mentioned. But starting your own business and succeed, needs your mind, behavior and motivation be in a higher level.

You can try it e.g. for one week. Clean your desk, try to schedule as much as you can at this point, reflect your feelings while writing an article and try to act like a big fish. Not to your reader. But to you. Ask yourself :"Am I able to get a quick overview about my blog?" "Do I feel confident with this topic?" "How can I get more time for other thing?" Just an example... And then compare to the time before.

studyskillsmentor

When I started bloging I definately felt like a small fish. Still do. But they great thing about being being small is all the other new inexperienced bloggers you can hang out with. I follow two types of blogging community - the established ones and the newer ones. And you can learn so much from both. I think your 4 points are very timely for me as I am trying to find the balance between blogging and recreation.