Above Header

How do you Manage Expectations in your Blogging Business?

Manage Expectations in your blogging businessHow do you manage expectations in your blogging business?

This is really important when you understand that your expectations shape the success or failure of your blogging business.

So how do you manage those expectations?

It’s really pretty simple, actually.

Special: Join Donna’s Budget Coaching Program

You Get What You Expect

You see, when people talk to me about getting the results they want, they’re usually thinking simultaneously about all the reasons that they’ll never get them.

It goes something like this.

Spoken Words:

The result I’m looking for is to drive a steady stream of traffic to my blog.

Hidden Thoughts:

How will I ever get more traffic to my blog?

I don’t know anything about how to get more traffic.

The bloggers who get a lot of traffic have been well established for years.

They know a whole bunch of traffic ninja tricks.

It’s way beyond my capability.

I just write blog posts, and I’m not even sure how good they are.

Why would a whole bunch of people suddenly be interested in reading them? It’s not too likely.

You see what people do is this.

They tell me what they “want.”

But that’s like a pie in the sky dream from some other world.

Meanwhile, they tell themselves what they truly expect the results of their efforts to be.

Subconscious Expectations

Now, the student or client in the above illustration may never put those thoughts into words, not even to themselves.

But they think them, nonetheless.

They probably don’t even know they’re thinking them.

So they really try to get that flood of traffic by doing exactly what they’re told.

But subconsciously, they don’t believe it will happen.

In other words, they don’t expect it to happen.

They’re trying to do all the right things to get results that they never really believe they will.

It’s one of the reasons that when people sell you things, they make sure to offer a money back guarantee.

They know the psychological makeup of the vast majority of buyers.

They “want” the results promised on the sales page, but they expect to fail in achieving it.

So one of the most important things they look for when buying is a way to backtrack when they fail.

Special: Join Donna’s Free VIP Blogging Club – Free Now… Free Forever

They want to see a money back guarantee.

Because while they are excited to get the results promised, something inside of them is saying…

You’ll never get those results… somebody else might, but not you.

What You Expect of Others

Often times, bloggers build up expectations of their readers that actually break down their ability to bond with them.

They might, for instance, expect their readers are not sophisticated enough to understand the value they are delivering on their blogs.

Yet, on the other hand, they might put their readers on a pedestal, thinking they will not value their content because they are already too knowledgeable.

I know bloggers who assume their readers are only looking for free information, and will never convert into buyers.

In any case, bloggers can build a wall between themselves and their readers if they expect something of them that is not true.

Keep in mind that when you expect people to behave in certain ways, then that’s the crowd you’ll most likely attract.

Expect The Best of Others

You tend to slant everything you do as a response to your expectations audience.

This takes you out of your game.

Instead of being yourself and delivering the best you can, you try to be somebody that you think people want you to be.

But simply delivering what you think they are looking for, only works when you are really in harmony with your audience.

So first, know who your audience is.

And then expect them to be the best audience in the world.

Give them encouragement and positive messages in your content, and in your interactions with them.

When people know you have high expectations of them, they tend to live up them.

What You Expect of Yourself

It’s all fine and well to expect great things of others.

And to have the positive expectation that they will respond to your messaging in a way that will improve their lives.

But what expectations do you have of yourself?

Do you expect to be a person who can motivate others to new heights?

Because you can be.

Sponsored Ad

Build “Content Upgrades” + “Landing Pages” Into Your Blog Posts, Seamlessly & Fast

Do you expect to be able to give your audience great and valuable guidance along the way?

Because you can.

Do you expect your business to grow and succeed from the great value you offer people?

Because it will.

Expect To Attract A Wonderful Audience and Following

You should also expect that your audience will be the best in the world.

Expect that everything you deliver to them will encourage them to grow, learn and share to the best of their abilities.

When you do this, what you were really doing is creating an expectation that you will have an incredible following.

That you will have a loyal following.

And that you will attract only people who will convert into customers and clients because they are highly motivated by you, and value what you are sharing.

When you expect to have a wonderful following and a great audience… guess what?

You will.

The Failure Mindset

Failure is really easy to do.

All you have to do is expect to fail and you will.

And there are so many good reasons to fail.

After all, once you have failed, you can stop trying to achieve that thing you know is so important to achieve..

You could just say “well, that didn’t work… I didn’t expect it would and it didn’t.”

This allows you to give up on all the dreams you have that have gone unfulfilled.

You can tell yourself, and others, that “well it’s no way that I can work on making those dreams come true because I already tried.”

So you kind of let yourself off the hook.

Special: Join Donna’s Free VIP Blogging Club – Free Now… Free Forever

Now you can hide inside of your comfort zone.

Just continue to deprive yourself of the things you want most in life.

And who can blame you?

After all you tried.

The Success Mindset

There is another way.

Develop a blogging success mindset by managing your expectations.

You can expect to succeed.

Expect people to value who you are and what you bring to the table.

Trust in the process you’ve committed to.

Trust that you will make it work.

Focus on putting that together, and expect that it will get you the results you want.

And then it will.

How To Achieve The Success Mindset

Start achieving things.

Don’t hope to or dream about achieving… just achieve.

Stay focused on your success.

Sounds easy, but HOW do you do that?

Set Realist Goals

You have to set reasonable and achievable goals.

Make them realistic.

If you just started a new blog yesterday, don’t expect to have a raving audience next week.

But know that you can write a great blog post on your site, today.

You can write one that’s going to be highly valued by your audience because it’s going to help them get more of what they want out of life.

That’s realistic.

And it’s a key step in achieving your Big Goal of getting that raving audience.

So go out and achieve it.

Special: Join Donna’s Budget Coaching Program

Write that killer blog post that will resonate with your audience.

Do it today.

It’s within your grasp.

You can do it… and so you will.

Expect Your Blogging Business To Be a Big Success

Once you have adopted a success mindset, you can expect your blogging business to be a big success.

You can make it the cornerstone of a profitable business.

And to make that happen, you should expect to reach your realistic goals on a daily basis.

Make Achievement of your Goals a Daily Practice

Of course, you need to have a Big Gameplan.

That’s your blueprint for success.

And it should outline the succession of milestones you must reach as you move toward your Big Goal.

Now, once you’ve got your milestone goals lined up, you must fully expect to do whatever it takes to achieve them.

That happens when you learn to achieve each of your smaller, more immediate tasks.

Know that each of those little goals or milestones will end up getting you exactly the results you want.

So achieve every little task you set for yourself, each and every day.

As you make the achievement of your goals a daily practice, you will become conditioned to achieving anything you set out to do.

Your expectations for success will move you steadily forward, along your way to blogging success.

Top Tier Coaching

So, now, I’d like to get your feedback.

Please leave me a comment below, and then share this article on your social sites.

Let me know, how do you manage expectations in your blogging business.

-Donna

Donna Merrill
Donna is a well known blogger and creator of "Blogging Magic" - an intensive guide to blogging. "Blogging Magic" is for beginners who are trying to figure out how to bring their blogs to life with tons of visits, comments and social media interaction. It's even for advanced bloggers looking to reach new levels of authority and engagement with their audience.

, , , , , , ,

25 Responses to How do you Manage Expectations in your Blogging Business?

  1. Gaurav Kumar
    Twitter:
    September 9, 2018 at 8:48 pm #

    Hi Donna,

    Most of the time people are complaining about what they wanted to achieve something else but God gave them something less valuable. I believe that there are two reasons why people have the imbalance between what they have and what they want.

    One is expectations and second is the efforts needed.

    In the blogging business, 90% quitters believe that they have done everything in just six months and there is nothing good for them.

    They blindly ignore the fact that there are years of hard work behind the success of an established blogger.

    Wrong expectations always make you meet the deepest sorrows.

    It is always necessary that one should manage the expectations not only in blogging business but in every phase of life.

    Glad you shared this topic.
    Gaurav Kumar recently posted..How to be Successful on New Shopify App StoreMy Profile

  2. Amit Shee September 3, 2018 at 6:38 am #

    Hi Donna,

    This is a great post you shared. I have read your article and you explained it very very good. Really glad to read your article.

    Thanks for sharing this amazing article with us. Keep this great work.

  3. Venu September 1, 2018 at 1:05 pm #

    Hello Donna,

    This is definitely an inspirational post. It is always advisable to manage the expectations so we don’t quit it in the middle. Many newbie bloggers quit their first blogs in the first 3 to 5 months.

    I guess I can now share this post with my newbie blogger friends and they will surely love it.

    Thanks

  4. Emma Taylor August 29, 2018 at 2:35 am #

    Hi Donna,

    You have shared such an amazing post. You have shared things in detail which is so helpful for a new blogger like myself. Your suggestions for keyword searching and link building are gold.

    Thank you for sharing this lovely post. Hope to be back soon.

  5. Anthony August 28, 2018 at 6:33 pm #

    Hello Donna,

    I like the points you put across in your article. The fundamental difference between failing and succeeding comes down to mindset. Successful individuals learn from failure and grow in the process. Mismanaged expectations also lead to people giving up because of the expectation of instant gratification. This business is a marathon, not a sprint. I enjoyed reading your article. Thanks for sharing.

    • Donna Merrill
      Twitter:
      September 8, 2018 at 7:40 pm #

      Hi Anthony

      Expectation of instant gratification is such a poisonous trap for bloggers to fall into.

      Blogging takes hard work and dedication.

      It’s not a quick trip to rich 🙂

      And it takes always giving value freely and consistently to your readers and audience.

      Do these things and your blogging business will grow steadily and robustly.

      -Donna
      Donna Merrill recently posted..How to use Calls To Action on your Blog for Profitable ConversionsMy Profile

  6. Maria Tayler
    Twitter:
    August 28, 2018 at 1:51 am #

    Hello Donna,

    You always comes with the exciting stuff. This one is again.. amazing, According to my perception. The one who start something to help people is always worthy, In blogging, the first priority always be give value to the reader without expecting much ( atleast In the starting period of blogging),

    If you help your readers without the fear of failure then you’ll definitely succeed. This is self branding, sharing your expertise with others actually make you a leader. It doesn’t matter if someone can’t afford your products or services, You should help them by responding on their comments, praise them, if they share your content.

    Thanks for sharing this Donna.

    Regards
    Maria

    • Donna Merrill
      Twitter:
      September 8, 2018 at 7:37 pm #

      Hi Maria

      Absolutely true.

      The essence of blogging is to give value and give it freely.

      You can always charge for it in your courses and coaching and other services.

      But on your blog – you should be giving it freely.

      To have a great blogging business, you need to do what you can to improve people’s lives.

      That means … give them value in terms of information that they can use to their betterment.

      Do this and you’ll never have to worry about traffic, readers or profit because their expectation of you will always be high quality, trustworthy content, products, advice and services.

      -Donna
      Donna Merrill recently posted..How to Make Your Blog the Cornerstone of a Profitable BusinessMy Profile

  7. Joy Healey
    Twitter:
    August 27, 2018 at 9:37 am #

    Hi Donna,

    When I started blogging MANY years ago I was totally innocent (stupid if I’m honest) about my expectations. Well – all these “experts” were doing so well with their blogs, with no special qualifications, I was sure I could do it too.

    Turned out I could do the blogging bit, but the money didn’t pour into my wallet like it had (apparently) poured into theirs.

    Then I did a reality check and found that many of these experts are actually complete scammers. So I’m very careful who I listen to these days!

    Perhaps the best tip I can give is don’t be too trusting and don’t let common-sense desert you because some flashy guy/gal is posing next to a glitzy car.

    Joy Healey – Blogging After Dark

    • Donna Merrill
      Twitter:
      September 3, 2018 at 7:38 pm #

      Hi Joy

      I think the lesson there is to just blog on your own terms.

      Blog with YOUR passion… for YOUR audience… and for the results that YOU want or need.

      Forget about what everybody else is doing.

      It’s really not important except when you’re looking to get help and advice along the way.

      -Donna
      Donna Merrill recently posted..How To Do Product Reviews on Your BlogMy Profile

  8. Ryan Biddulph
    Twitter:
    August 24, 2018 at 2:06 pm #

    General doubt and fear cripples many bloggers. Like you said Donna; bloggers ask about how to get more traffic or how to increase blogging profits but fear permeates their question, being their predominant energy. I dig expecting good things to happen some of the time, then, trading my expectations for appreciation some of the time too. Have fun with the process to both grow your blogging business and to emit a fun-loving, abundant vibe, which is met by successful results. Tweeted and FB Shared for you.

    Ryan

  9. Flora August 24, 2018 at 1:59 am #

    Hey Donna,
    Nice to hear from you how to manage the expectation of our visitor in our blog. Communication matters a lot in managing web visitor expectation.
    Always try to engage visitor with good content that they expect before visiting our blogs.

    Thank you for providing the best post for me…

  10. Moss Clement
    Twitter:
    August 23, 2018 at 6:15 am #

    Hi Donna,

    Being positive about yourself is the way forward. I always have a positive mindset, not try to have but aways have it in all I do. For example, when I sent my first ever pitch, it was to Jeff Bullas and I expected a positive response. What happened? I got a positive response from jeff, and in fact, he later contacted me a second time via email and on twitter.
    I believe with such a mindset, you can achieve most anything. Although one might fail along the way, but should you let that oil you down? No! As Vishwajeet said above, failure is an opportunity for you to learn from your mistakes and move forward, not backwards. So, being able to manage expextations in your blogging business will help you thrive remarkably!

    Thank you for this incredible post, Donna??!

    • Donna Merrill
      Twitter:
      September 3, 2018 at 6:55 pm #

      Hi Moss

      You make a good point here.

      Positive thinking is about moving forward even when you’re not sure what’s going to happen.

      And you can do that because you know no matter what the result is you’re going to keep moving forward beyond that point.

      Failure is only a stepping-stone to your ultimate success.

      People often mistakenly think it means it’s time to stop what you’re doing and go in a different direction.

      -Donna
      Donna Merrill recently posted..How to use Calls To Action on your Blog for Profitable ConversionsMy Profile

  11. Lisa Sicard
    Twitter:
    August 23, 2018 at 4:09 am #

    Hi Donna, Very interesting take. I used to be that student too like Cori said in her comment. Now, I’ve been getting a lot of positive feedback and it’s really helped me move along. I only expect to help people better understand things and with simplicity.

    I had a client yesterday tell me “I love when you make it simple for me.” I will be sure going forward to keep that in the forefront of all that I do going forward. Whether it’s the readers of my blog or my client base, people love things to be simple today. Too many things are complicated today.

    My goals have changed somewhat with my business but they are much more FOCUSED now. I know where I want to be and I’m almost there. I just have to now work on how to grow it and when to hire the right folks 🙂

    Thanks for making me think on this one Donna – have a wonderful day ahead!
    Lisa Sicard recently posted..Fix Orphaned Content on Your Website – For Your SEO JuiceMy Profile

    • Donna Merrill
      Twitter:
      September 3, 2018 at 6:50 pm #

      Hi Lisa

      And that simplicity is what helps your clients move forward.

      Because really things are simple.

      People only complicate them because they would rather do that than to actually sit down and do the hard work of implementing that simple blueprint.

      You’ve come a long way girlfriend 🙂

      -Donna
      Donna Merrill recently posted..Welcome – How Is This Blog Different?My Profile

  12. Cori Ramos
    Twitter:
    August 22, 2018 at 8:26 pm #

    Hi Donna,

    Wow, I can see the old me in your student because had some of those same thoughts.

    I used to have a defeated mindset. The problem with that is if you stay in that funk for too long, it’s hard to get out of it. It took meditating, practicing positive reinforcements and faith to get passed it.

    And it’s true that it can affect how we do in business. It also starts to eat away at our passion. And once that passion is gone it makes it more easy to quit when things aren’t going well.

    I used to set ridiculous goals but now I like to keep my goals realistic. And I make sure to celebrate every milestone regardless of how little the needle moved – that’s the fuel for my passion. 🙂

    Thanks for always sharing your words of wisdom with us!

    Cori
    Cori Ramos recently posted..How To Become A Kick-Ass Micro InfluencerMy Profile

    • Donna Merrill
      Twitter:
      September 3, 2018 at 6:45 pm #

      Hi Cori

      Well you did the right thing by taking action steps to get out of that funk.

      Like you say, if you stay in it too long then you get stuck in it forever.

      It simply becomes a habit.

      You don’t get out of it by wishing it away.

      You get out of it by taking action steps that result in small successes.

      Then you form the new habit of success.

      -Donna
      Donna Merrill recently posted..How To Write an About Me Page That Will Increase Your BusinessMy Profile

  13. Vishwajeet Kumar
    Twitter:
    August 22, 2018 at 6:56 am #

    Hello Donna,

    Failure always teaches us something new and we learn from our mistakes. It is a fundamental step toward success. I always prefer to have a goal and working towards it to achieve it. I have seen many newbie blogger who joined the blogging universe but when they become unsuccessful they quit. They didn’t take the advantage of their failures. By the way I have mentioned you in my recent post.

    Have a Great Day 🙂
    Vishwajeet
    Vishwajeet Kumar recently posted..5 Tips to Building a Successful Blog That Sets You FreeMy Profile

    • Donna Merrill
      Twitter:
      August 22, 2018 at 8:41 am #

      Hi Vishwajeet,

      Yes, so often people quit when they hit unexpected roadblocks.

      That’s why you need to make them one of those expectations that you’ll have.

      No blogging business goes perfectly from Day 1.

      There will be hurdles to clear, so expect them, factor them into your planning and when they occur, you’ll be ready to get past them and move forward.

      And thanks for your mention. I’ll check it out now 🙂
      Donna Merrill recently posted..Blogging Is Fun But Can I Make Money At It?My Profile

Leave a Reply

CommentLuv badge

Terms and Conditions | Privacy Policy
error: Content is protected !!