Last week, I signed up for what looks to be a cool new service called SeededBuzz (I saw that a few of my friends had “liked” their ad on Facebook, so score 1 for the effectiveness of Facebook ads). The basic idea is that you can submit your best blog posts (called “planting a seed”) , and other bloggers can pick up on the theme and write posts of their own based on your “seed” post (otherwise known as “buzzing” your “seed”). Once you get a handle on the goofy terminology, it can be a great way to meet, connect with, and befriend other bloggers. And it works!
Meet Tia Peterson, creator of BizChickBlogs. Tia knows her stuff: she’s been designing websites and messing with WordPress since graduating college, although she won’t tell us how long ago that was. 
Her tips and advice for bloggers are spot on. I met Tia via (heh…that rhymes) SeededBuzz, and this is why I love blogging: it’s all about the connections!
Anyhow, a few weeks ago Tia wrote a post that considered the question of why so many blogs fail. I think that’s an interesting question, especially considering my new Blog Whisperer project. The reason I started MyBlogWhisperer.com was the fact that so many of the blogs I was setting up for people were left vacant once they were completed. When I would ask the owners of said blogs what was going on, I’d get different versions of the same answer: they felt like they didn’t have anything worth saying.
And I think that’s the number one reason most blogs fail: FEAR. So many of us have been filling our heads with negative self-talk for so long that we refuse to believe that anyone would want to hear anything we have to say. I’m here to tell you, though, that they do! Believe it or not, there are thousands of people just like you who are looking for someone to give voice to their thoughts and feelings. That someone can be you, if you’ll just get out of your own way.
And it doesn’t stop with bloggers. For so many of us, fear is the only thing between us and the success we desire. The object of our desire, whether wealth, fame, a satisfying relationship, or a prosperous business, is right there, ripe for the taking; and yet we’re afraid to reach out and pluck it off the branch.
Isn’t about time you broke your mind out of the dungeon of fear? Isn’t it time you conquered your fear, once and for all, and let your light shine? I think it is. I think it’s time for all of us to reconsider the power we give to our fear, and start to take some of that power back. Stay tuned for suggestions on how you can do just that.
What do you think? How has fear held you back, and how do you plan to reclaim your power?
Jerry,
Wow – That’s a great way to look at failure in blogging and business – fear. And the thing is that it’s deep-seated, many people don’t realize that the procrastination or lack of creativity or lack of motivation is because they are just feeling incredibly insecure about their ability to contribute.
So now your post is going to inspire my Two Cents Tuesday. LOL Can’t help it; it’s the nature of things I guess. I will definitely be linking to this post!
Cheers, Jerry.
Tia
P.S. Tweeted!
Tia recently posted..Why I’m Not Impressed with Your Traffic Numbers- Bubba!
Excellent! This is turning into some kind of crazy blog wheel…loved your Two Cents Tuesday post, and thanks for the link. Keep up the great work!
[...] Kennedy’s post today, which was the result of our linking up on seededbuzz, is about fear. He, like me, has developed blogs for people only to see them wither and die, with one of the main [...]
[...] but also in the comments and communications between the bloggers – a great example of this is here where you can see that Jerry Kennedy is continuing the conversation with Tia with regards to the [...]
Thanks for the interesting information and the details with regards to SeededBuzz. I’ve used the site myself (on and off) and coincidentally also linked to Tia’s article as it is a really good one and one that I found really useful and informative also.
I’ve now also “buzzed” about this article on my blog also as it was a completely different take to my response to Tia.
glass_is_half recently posted..Free & Paid Book Reviews
Thanks for stopping by! Do you have a name, or shall we just call you Glass? I love Tia’s blog…always so full of great information. Hope to see you here again!
I never thought that fear is the number one reason most blogs fail. how about run out of ideas?
Well, I believe that running out of ideas is just an excuse; I think what really happens is that most people are afraid to share the ideas they have. If bloggers could be comfortable with themselves, they’d find the ideas flowing better and faster.
Thanks for your comment!