12,258 Unique Visitors In 7 Days Can’t Be Wrong – How A-List Blogging Bootcamps Helped My Blog Stand Out From The Crowd
A Case Study by Karol Gajda of Ridiculously Extraordinary.com
Hey there!
You probably don’t know me, so I’ll quickly introduce myself and get right into the good stuff. My name is Karol (Karl not Carol) Gajda (Guy-Duh) and I’ve been working for myself my whole adult life (since age 19; I’m 28 now).
I launched my blog, RidiculouslyExtraordinary.com, on July 1, 2009 with little to no fanfare. I spent the 30 days prior to launch writing at least 1,000 words per day for the blog (without posting anything). After launch I posted to the blog for 2 weeks without even telling anybody.
The goal was to build up a handful of high quality articles.
Side note: Please pay attention to the bolded sections of this Case Study. They’re especially important.
I finally began telling people about the blog in mid-July. From my old Internet Marketing days I still have a very small list of people on a private AWeber e-mail list.
Besides a few friends, these were my first visitors. From that small list, an even smaller number subscribed to my blog. For the first 6 weeks my RSS subscriber count hovered around 30-40 and my daily visitors were in the range of 10-20 per day.
While I was taking blogging seriously by sticking to a schedule and writing what I thought were high quality articles I wasn’t getting anywhere.
So I started researching what the big bloggers were doing. Being that I was a regular reader of ZenHabits.net by Leo Babauta I thought that was a good place to start. I noticed that Leo was offering private blog consulting for upwards of $1,000 and I was getting ready to sign up when…
In early August Leo and Mary Jaksch (from GoodLifeZen.com) announced a 10 day blogging bootcamp and I signed up immediately. The cost, at $395, wasn’t cheap, but quality information from the likes of Leo and Mary is worth any price if you’re serious about blogging.
(By the way, hiring Leo privately is no longer even possible.)
On August 18, 2009 I participated in Day 1 of the first 10 day A List Blogging Bootcamp and…
It changed my blog forever.
At the time I was receiving less than 100 visitors/day and had less than 100 RSS subscribers.
If you take nothing else from this free Case Study and even if you don’t sign up for any upcoming A List Blogging Bootcamps, please at least take action on the following 2 points.
(I hope Leo and Mary don’t mind that I’m sharing this…)
1. Write high quality content.
That means take the time to craft your blog posts. Take the time to find relevant pictures. Take the time to edit your posts, making sure that you highlight certain parts so they’re scannable. Remember, most people online don’t read, they scan.
Be sure that a “scanning reader” can get the point of your article without much work. If they like what they’ve scanned, they will read the whole article. And hopefully, they’ll also subscribe to your RSS and maybe even comment.
2. Write high quality guest posts for other blogs
Quality content gets people to subscribe and stick around, but guest posts attract readers.
Without readers it doesn’t matter how great your content. It’s like the philosophical discussion:
“If a tree falls in the middle of a forest and nobody hears it, does it make any noise?”
“If a blog offers great content but nobody reads it, does it provide any value?”
This is important so let me reiterate:
Provide high quality content and Write high quality guest posts for other blogs
One without the other is absolutely useless.
How To Get A Guest Post Published
There are secrets to getting your guest posts published on other blogs and I’m going to use a specific example for a blog that is NOT accepting guest posts: Leo’s ZenHabits.net
I can’t go into as much detail as you’ll get if you join the A List Blogging Bootcamps (and I don’t want to piss Leo and Mary off by giving away what they’ve worked so hard creating), but what I can do is give you a couple big tips.
1. Write your guest post with a specific blog in mind.
If you write for a specific blog in mind it’ll show in your words. You’ll end up writing a little bit differently, naturally tailoring it to a slightly different audience than your own.
This may sound trivial, but it’s important:
2. Format your post before sending it off.
Don’t send a pitch e-mail and wait for a response. Send a pitch e-mail WITH your article ready to publish. Attach it in WordPress HTML format and also copy/paste it into the bottom of your e-mail without HTML so it’s easy to read.
What I’m saying is don’t make the blogger work to publish your post. Make it easy as possible.
There is a lot more involved in writing/pitching guest posts, but if you follow just these 2 tips you’ll have a pretty good success rate.
Here is what I did to get on ZenHabits along with stats/screenshots
1. I joined the Bootcamp and volunteered for my blog to be discussed on one of the Webinars.
What better way to get the attention of Leo and Mary than by forcing them to improve my blog for the whole group of participants. It’s a double whammy. 
Pro tip: Be sure to volunteer your blog for a webinar. It’s not the end of the world if you don’t get on a webinar, but I highly recommend it.
2. I participated on the Bootcamp forums and helped others where I could.
The specific webinar I ended up volunteering for was about writing blog headlines. During the Web cast Leo actually said: “I could learn a thing or two from Karol’s headlines.” That was quite humbling to hear.
So I mostly helped others with their headlines.
Pro tip: Participate in the Forums. Yes, it takes time to do so, but a support system helps when you’re just getting started.
You might wonder what points 1 and 2 had to do with me getting a guest slot on ZenHabits. The truth is, I’m not entirely sure they did anything, but I feel like getting my name in front of Leo and everybody else helped.
By the way, I never expected a guest slot on ZenHabits (you shouldn’t either, Leo isn’t accepting guest posts), and I didn’t do any of this stuff expecting I would get one. Leo and Mary created a great community and it was a good time participating.
3. I wrote my guest post The Beginner’s Guide To Minimalist Travel specifically for one of Leo’s sites. It would fit on both ZenHabits.net or Mnmalist.com and I would have been thrilled with either.
If I was writing that article for RidiculouslyExtraordinary.com the tone would have been a little different.
But the content of my guest post would have worked well on my own blog too.
Did you catch that?
If you want readers from your guest posts to stick around on your blog make sure the content in some way relates. ZenHabits and RidiculouslyExtraordinary are two completely different blogs, but I found a common thread.
Tailor your guest post to the blog’s audience and not yours, but find a common thread between them.
4. I didn’t have Leo’s e-mail address, so I Tweeted him.
Before I did that, I wrote up a post and password protected it in WordPress so I could send him a link. Remember, make it easy on the blogger you’re pitching! THEN I tweeted him…
You see, I knew Leo wasn’t accepting guest posts (I can’t say it enough, he still isn’t). But this post was written specifically for him so I thought I’d give it a shot. Even if he used it a year in the future I would have been quite happy.
I made a promise to myself publicly on my blog that I would do a better job of going after guest posts. I thought starting at the top (ZenHabits) would be good even if I failed.
As you can see this Tweet was a Direct Message. You can only send Direct Messages to someone who is following you. Does Leo follow everybody who follows him? I don’t think so. I don’t follow everybody back either. It’s too difficult to keep track of too many people.
Why did he follow me? I’m going to guess because I was a Bootcamp member AND he enjoyed what I wrote on my blog. (I don’t want to put words in his mouth, of course, so I’m just guessing.)
5. He responded a few days later.
I broke my own rule and made him work for it since something went wrong on my end. Luckily, my Twitch (tweet + pitch) did the job and sparked Leo’s interest…
6. So I e-mailed him.
Remember what I mentioned above? Copy/paste your post in the e-mail AND attach formatted WordPress HTML. If the blog you’re trying to get a guest post on isn’t WordPress format it in whatever format is necessary.
7. Success!
Leo liked my article and decided to publish it a few days later. I was quite shocked.
What Happens When You Get A Guest Post On A Huge Blog?
Since this is what you probably care about most I’m going to share very specific stats with you.
RidiculouslyExtraordinary.com traffic 7 days before ZenHabits guest post (Google Analytics screen shot):
So you see, I was getting ~20 visitors per day. Not very much.
RidiculouslyExtraordinary.com traffic 7 days AFTER guest post (screen shot) :
My favorite stat on this screen shot: Avg. Time on Site
As you can see, due to tailoring my guest post to Leo’s audience AND writing high quality content on my blog the average time each visitor spent on my site was almost 6 minutes!
More stats!
RSS Subscribers Before/After Guest Post:
The Subscriber count was steady (and low, at around 70) until my guest post when it exploded!
Closer Look At RSS Subscribers After Guest Post:
RSS subscribers jumped from 70 to 928 in 7 days. Nice!
Amazon Revenue Before Guest Post:
Amazon Revenue After Guest Post:
This particularly surprised me. I didn’t even think about the fact that one of my articles (Travel Light, Travel Anywhere: The Ultimate Light Packing List) had Amazon affiliate links (very clearly labelled, I might add) and might get some revenue.
I know $76.87 isn’t a lot of money. The point is that visitors = revenue. Either with advertising (I don’t allow advertising on my site) or other revenue streams.
How do you get more visitors and, in turn, more revenue?
- High quality content
- High quality guest posts
Yes, I am getting repetitive, but those 2 points are very important.
If you’re serious about doing something extraordinary with your blog there are no better people to learn from than Leo Babauta and Mary Jaksch.
If you just want to run another blog that gets lost in the fray, that’s cool too.
Kidding. 
Truthfully, you don’t need a bootcamp or eCourse or coaching or anything. If you can produce exceptional content and bust your ass going after guest posts you have a great chance for success.
<h3>Leo and Mary’s BootCamp will help you increase your chances for success. Especially if you’re like I was and don’t have a clue what to do to get more blog traffic.</h3>
Think of the Bootcamp as your foot in the door and a kick in the ass…
Sign up for the next A List Blogging Bootcamp or don’t. I highly recommend you go for it, but the choice is yours. No strong-arming here. (Do it! hehe)
Whatever you decide I wish you success with your Ridiculously Extraordinary Blog!
Karol Gajda
http://www.RidiculouslyExtraordinary.com – Freedom, Health, Travel, Life
http://www.Twitter.com/KarolGajda
P.S. Even if you don’t register for the BootCamp, click on Leo’s image in the sidebar and sign up for the free info they send out. It’s great stuff.
Note from Leo and Mary: Please go ahead and let us know what you think in the comments. The best commenter will get a FREE place on the upcoming Bootcamp!
We start accepting enrolments from February 8
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Hello. I am VERY impressed by this post. I have to admit guest posting is the one tactic that I have avoided. I have a rather extensive list of “comedy insiders”, but I often get frustrated when my unique visitors number is stalled or new subscribers is at a standstill. I have often felt that guest posting was like tugging at the pant leg of a popular blogger and begging them to help you. Now, I feel that I was very wrong. It’s more like finding the right affiliate PARTNER by guest posting on a blog with a similar audience to yours. Very, very helpful. Thank you and now it’s my turn to go tug at some pant hems. All the best, Becky
love the case study karol – really appreciate you sharing your stats
as a fellow boot camp participant have to say my experience has also been seriously positive and I haven’t even had a guest post on anything as big as zen habits.
Reading Karol’s story is very inspiring, it just shows you that it’s not all about being in the right place at the right time, it about information and choosing how to use it to its true potential.
Cheers
Greg
HI Karol, You not only repeated your two key steps, you followed them! Your content for this guest post was high quality. It made me want to check out http://www.RidiculouslyExtraordinary.com ! Thank you.
Julie
Karol, your statement “Tailor your guest post to the blog’s audience and not yours, but find a common thread between them.” just slammed into my brain and I hope it stays there forever.
You see my blog is aimed at students and helping them with study skills. To gain exposure I have been writing guest posts on parent and teenage sites. But I really haven’t honed in on that idea of creating a common thread.
Am about to go on guest post frezy: and this will be my key strategy. May have to get a little creative, but thats part of the fun of blogging, isn’t it?
Thanks again
Ainslie
Hey
That was an interesting insight, I can read hundreds of advices but what stuck me here was also pin point that photographs and images where also a very important part of the blog/post we write, aside the great content. I got only one small challange with writing the quest posts – I haven’t find any interesting blogs or a right partner in my native language. Got to wonder what would be Mary and Leo’s advice for bloggers which language is not so popular as english
Cheers
Anna
Hi Karol,
This is an inspiring case and its great to see that you took specific repeatable steps to get the payback and did it with perseverance.
All the best in the days ahead and hope you see many more such spikes
.
Cheers,
Krishna
Fascinating post! Sadly I can’t afford to attend the bootcamp. But I’m terribly impressed on so many levels:
- 12,000 unique visitors- amazing
- more visitors more revenue
I even enjoyed Karol’s blog (btw, those are the bluest eyes I’ve ever seen). And now keen to meet him when he visits Thailand in April.
This is a win-win-win situation. My only question is this? Karol is there a reason why you don’t have advertisers in your blog? I’d like to earn revenue from my blog, but not keen on advertisers.
Best regards,
maida
http://www.themaidastouch.blogspot.com
Fine work my friend. It sounds as if the bootcamp came at the right time so you were able to take all Leo and Mary’s top tips and make them work for you.
I was also honored to have a guest post on Zen Habits and am hoping to get one on Write to Done and even Zen Family Habits too. I believe that guest posts are the best way to get new visitors to your site.
When my post was on Zen Habits I got the large number of visitors you documented but while it seems as if you converted about 25% of them into suscriber my conversion rate was only about 10%. So I’d love to get some more tips and feedback on what I’m doing right and wrong.
I think signing up for the bootcamp helps ensure blogging success for 5 big reasons:
1. SIgning up to invest your time and money shows you’re committed to blogging and taking it seriously.
2. Taking part inspires you to work harder and strive to impress your blogging heroes who are actually teaching you.
3. The bootcamp opens doors that might otherwise have remained firmly shut.
4. The forums motivate you to keep working because you are supported by like-minded bloggers.
5. The course content provides insider information from seasoned professionals that you just can’t get anywhere else.
There, was that interesting? I hope so. I’d love to take part in the bootcamp. But enough of my not-so-subtle hints, I guess I’d better clear the floor for someone else:)
Best commenter… hmmmm. So the story is that I plan on starting a new blog called life2oh. I have registered the domain life2oh.net I think it’s a dang catchy title. It will be a blog about living and most importantly thriving in what seems to be a brand new world… new economies, new relationships, new health revelations and yes concerns and issues, new creativity, a changing environment, global shifts in markets, politics, spirituality, tastes, family structures, basically it’s an exploration of changing ones life to live a meaningful, rewarding and contributory life in times of radical change. For me the big question regarding launching this blog is less about content (hey it’s a big subject) but how do I derive enough income from the endeavor to continue with the it? I think I have a key and valuable concept but like any “creative” venture the dilemma is how can it pay enough to support the creator? If it can’t well the internet is filled with dead links… I don’t want life2oh to be another one. I want it to be a touch point for all of us that are trying to make sense of, benefit from and contribute to this dynamic new world of ours.
Can I be skeptical? Perhaps this comment will not bring me the Best Comment Award, and it does not even deserve your attention, but I look at the situation from a viewpoint that is not American, but European. A blog in Italian, although it has fantastic posts, with great content, a niche, it has to contend with a smaller market, a market that is less digitally literate. Are you really sure, have you really proven that the same large numbers of accesses are possible anywhere in the world, in any language? I really will appreciate an answer. Grazie Eliana
Karol, I am so impressed with the way you broke the process down into very clear parts.Then you added them in logical progression to make your blog most effective. I love that you included screenshots of your results, as that makes your progress more specific and more real to me.
So, you practiced great content first on your own, building a series of solid posts. Then you opened your blog to a few readers who already have a connection to you, continued to expand your list. I agree with Ainslie that your observation about finding the common thread between the your blog and Leo’s was key in your success. it also expanded your repertoire! Thank you for your clear and honest breakdown of how you brought your blog to life. It inspires me to move on in my own blog. I already subscribe to your blog, and now I will follow you on Twitter!.
I am constantly amazed how many people within the blogging community still fail to grasp the psychology of people when they are marketing their brand and products. And it really shows that they don’t care about me ‘the consumer’ because they have obviously taken so little time in understanding the psychology of people when thinking about how they present themselves and their brand to the world. This is turn means that they really don’t care about connecting with people, about providing value to the customer, they are just simply in it for themselves, to get what they can form me, to get a sale, no give just take!
Daily I am bombarded with sales messages on Twitter and Facebook; Buy this, you really need that, this will make your life a million times better and so the messages go on and on and on and on ….a never ending drone.
Well just stop it right now! Please think for a minute what your own reaction to this crazy bombardment of messages would be. What would you do?
Would you read every single message? Would you have time to read every message? Would you be inclined to read the 20th message form the same person? Would you be thinking loving thoughts towards this person for sending you yet another message and kindly blocking up your accounts and inbox?
I will tell you what I would do; Firstly I wouldn’t even bother reading them, secondly I would eventually block the notifications, then the person sending them and finally I would never do business with this person ever again whilst being ever so slightly annoyed at them wasting my time.
Now all of this is a shame because it could have all been so different. Within all that information I was being forcefed there might have been something I could have found useful, there might have been an opportunity for me and I just might have even purchased something! But unfortunately for me and this poor online marketer no exchange of any value will now happen because I have shut the avenues of communication down…no way José, No go Joe!
Listen, if you want people to connect with you, trust you, subscribe to your blog, buy from you, respect and take you seriously as a leader then you first have to respect them and give value to them. And how do you that? Well first stop with the spamming 80 times a day for a start. Less is more definitely! Your contacts will automatically shut you down if you are constantly spamming them with sales opportunities or products to buy. Of course it’s ok to send a message selling your product but mix that in with other stuff that reveals you as a person i.e. quotes, jokes, useful information for your readers. People have to get to know you and trust you first and foremost and if you have taken the time to build up a rapport with them they are far more likely to take you seriously when you do have something to market to them.
Remember you have to give value to people first, show that you care about them as individuals and as valuable connections where you can both benefit from exchanges with each other and they will love you forever!
According to me the greatest idea is here: write guest posts for (very) different blogs than yours but find common threads. These exchanges are richer for everybody; indeed creation of bridges between different islands of information allow better circulation and also generation of new ideas!
I’d like to add that even if you don’t get a guest post published on sites like zenhabits (I didn’t), there are tons of ways to get loads of traffic. You have to be creative, after all leo had to start from somewhere, didn’t he?
I totally agree with the part about finding a common thread between your site and the site you’re guest posting for. There have been quite a few times where I read a very interesting guest post that implied the blogger wrote about things I was interested in, I subscribe to their blog, and then a few weeks later I find out that that’s not really the case. :-/
The things that stops me from guest posting are
-Insecurity about the quality of my own writing (I know, I know, it doesn’t matter…. but still…)
-Having a hard enough time keeping up with my own blog
-Fear of Success
Not sure how to deal with these aside from just continuing to plug away at it. Got any ideas?
Well well, it’s like 2002 all over again…
It is possible that people will write high quality posts. Most people can research and write a half decent article, it isn’t rocket science. Never has been.
However, and I am certainly not here to criticise, there are thousands of quality blogs out there right now. Writing good quality posts that scan well is good advice, but it doesn’t quite match being unique for a good blog strategy.
If you can show that you have something new and engaging to say, and you can say it without looking that you want nothing from your readers, then you have a chance to rise above the dreck that is out there. There are people writing blogs purely for money and then firing adwords at them to get that revenue.
Blogs should be a part of what you do. Use everything else and take your time and you should be fine. A blog written by someone who is unique in their voice and has a presence in other outlets rather than just the blogosphere has more potential than one that has a hundred quality ‘how to’ posts on it.
Won’t get a place on the ‘camp’ for this, but happy to state my opinion. I love my blog, but I love Twitter too, as well as lots of other stuff.
Sometimes less is more. Sometimes words written in bold mean more. Sometimes the colors seem brighter. Now is one of those times. Thanks for the article.
I have this highly enthusiastic extremely passionate blogger in me just waiting to be let loose on the world. But I’m holding off for at least 30 more days, thanks in part to you Karl.
First, I’ve needed to accomplish a few things before I could get to blogger status. I’ve had to get over myself and my crazy fear of what people will think. I’ve reinforced in my own mind my worthiness of getting in the online game & sharing my view with the world. Sounds dire and deep, lol, but it’s actually been a wonderful fun filled path.
2-3 years ago I carefully selected a username that would also serve as my mantra of who I am becoming: Amibelle [soul (ami) beautiful (belle)] was born. This last year I’ve been faithfully reading many blogs, that have helped me hone my habits and skills. I’ve also in the last year started writing a kick-ass novel, that will even move a grown man to tears.
I’ve boldly talked with people I know about my two Big Hairy Audacious Goals (writing and our plan to sail around the world) The great thing is that no one’s laughed and no one died of shock. Every single person I know supported me…even the grumpiest of grumpy folks.
Yesterday….drum roll please
I registered by domain name amibelle.com YAH! WHOOT!
I also decided, after reading more blogging tips (from zenhabits, man vs. debt, AONC, illuminated minds & write to done) to spend the month of February writing kick-ass content and tweaking the look of my site, to be launched mid-March.
Karl, thanks for reiterating that it’s important to write content for 30 days ahead of time. Yesterday, a weekly newsletter that I eagerly follow (nameless) came out and disappointingly she posted that this week’s newsletter was a reprint of a previous one because she had a Monday deadline with her publisher. – Extremely disappointing for this reader who can’t wait to read her wisdom each week. That really drove home the need to have content ready, or that as an experienced writer, she should have had a guest post waiting in the wings. I believe in everything falling in to place for a reason. Yesterday’s article, and my mid-March decision and now today’s article from Karl. I just know that the world is conspiring in my favor.
Thanks for putting yourself out there Karl. I subscribed to your feed and can’t wait to read your next article. Your website does clearly show the value of right pics and excellent headlines.
Thanks Leo and Mary for taking the time to share your knowledge with all of us.
And please feel free to give me even more evidence that the world is conspiring in my favor, by granting me the spot that you are giving away in your boot camp.
Thanks
Aamibelle
OK, let me get this straight. Leo Babauta is absolutely, positively 100% guaranteed not accepting guest posts… and yet he ran yours. Interesting… (drums fingertips together)… so either your post was so flabbergastingly good that he simply had no choice (I read it actually, it was great, very useful and specific), or you found a chink in his armor somewhere… hmmmmm. Anyway, here’s the lesson: it never hurts to shoot for the stars, especially if you think your chops are up to it.
This post: also very helpful. Having already ‘soft-launched’ my blog (I really didn’t know what I was getting myself into! Too late now, I’m hooked…) I am not in a position to take the excellent advice to build up quality content before launch, but it’s definitely a point taken for future projects.
Another great point here is to make sure your content would also work on your own blog. In addition to consistency, which you mentioned (hey wait a minute, I thought this guy wrote about lifestyle design! This blog is about ping-pong!) there’s another benefit: if your pitch is not successful, you’ve got a great post all ready to go on your own – or pitch to another compatible one.
Above all I think the most important advice is to make your guest-post some of the very best content you can produce. DO NOT fall into the trap of sending something second-rate and keeping your best for yourself. This should be obvious, but I think it can’t be repeated enough.
Actually I confess I’ve never done a guest post, but I’m in the lucky position of having just been asked to submit one by a pretty prominent blog in my niche, which I also had the impression was not open to guest-posting. This makes it easier to muster the courage to pitch, of course, but I still have to deliver the goods. As with your situation, it happens that I have bought into a course they offer – and the contact was via Twitter private message… so I guess that’s further evidence that this is not a bad initial way to connect… but as always, YMMV.
Finally: Mark, don’t hold back, tell us how you really feel!
1. Scholarship Fund.
If my post is the most interesting, compelling, mind-blowing creation from what appears to be a lot of great writing, then I’d like to donate my Bootcamp winnings to someone who really, really wants to participate but can’t afford it. I still want to join the Bootcamp, but I’m sure someone out there might be equally jazzed about Bootcamping but can’t pay for it right now.
2. Ridiculously Extraordinary.
Karol, it is ridiculously extraordinary of you to share all of this great information. It is just enough to make us would-be great bloggers salivate for more. This is such a giving community of people. It’s extraordinary.
3. My Blog Needs Help.
After reading your post and some of Leo and Mary’s free information, I see how needy my dear little blog is. I probably should pull it down until I learn the ropes, but it is still my creation and I love it like a red-headed step child. It needs an Extreme Blog Makeover!
4. Creative Minds, Cyber Friends.
I’m sitting at my desk in Roswell, Georgia, looking out my window, and out in the world are all of these creative minds pouring forth on their blogs with some really wonderful, useful, inspiring written stuff. All from these invisible creative minds. We are a group of disembodied like-minded energy chatting over coffee about cool, exciting stuff. That’s extraordinary too!
Oy, So much to think about. So much to do. And I want to do it all so I can help the folks out there who find themselves walking in my footsteps – raising a child (or in my case identical twins) with Down syndrome. Mine is a cross-over blog about maintaining my happiness while creating a peaceful and productive path for my beautiful children (2 of whom were blessed with an extra 21st chromosome). I’ve got good content, I speak with an experienced voice and I have a good – if not slightly warped — sense of humor. I say this because my readers tell me so. My posts specifically on Down Syndrome Awareness get anywhere from 45 to 60 hits when posted and those who comment tell me they look forward to reading more… I’ve also been told that if I wrote a book, they’d buy it. For me, that’s good info and keeps me going. I’ve been asked permission to reprint my posts on other blogs and in DS literature and to be shared within DS Support groups and virally (I guess you could say) with others who don’t know or follow me but who share my path. I’ve also had a shout out on Gretchen Rubin’s Happiness_Project.com. THRILLING! It wasn’t a guest post but just the mention got me 1,200 hits in 2 days and more than a handful of new followers.
I have a mission. I did ask 5MinutesForSpecialNeeds.com how one becomes a guest writer and never received a response from them. Thanks Karol, now I know why! And, thanks for the advice. I’ll spend a few hours hand-picking where I would like to make a guest appearance, writing up a few targetted-to-their-readership posts and then pitch them out to the powers that be in my niche and see where it takes me.
It’s not just a blog, it’s my calling. I have something important to share to help others and to change the world one child with Down syndrome at a time. And I know I need help. I may well turn out to be that fat little out-of-shape kid that signs up for bootcamp with barely a chance for survival but ends up shining brightly with the right direction. Thanks for pointing me toward my True North.
This article is a great “kick in the pants” for me. I KNOW guest posting is effective and I KNOW lots of blogs accept guest posts, and yet I feel hesitant about doing it. Insecurity (or is it laziness?) raises its ugly head.
Hearing how you got your article posted on a site that ostensibly wasn’t accepting guest posts is very inspiring. I will take this lesson to heart! Thanks for sharing your experience and giving us the call to action.
To action!
Valerie
I think this is a case of great advice that is so braindead obvious, it hurts. As bloggers, we tend to over-complicate the path to success by looking for secret tactics that all the marketing guru’s use. The truth is that Karol’s simple advice is THE secret that most would-be great bloggers ignore:
“If you can produce exceptional content and bust your ass going after guest posts you have a great chance for success.”
Said another way: provide something valuable to the world and make sure it gets seen by new people consistently. Or even, kick butt and take names!
I think many bloggers are afraid to shoot for guest spots on the bigger blogs for fear of “not being good enough,” so Karol’s experience was very motivating. You could write a hundred posts for a hundred blogs, or you could write one post for one huge blog.
I don’t know about you, but I like efficiency!
I enjoyed the tip on making it easy for the person to run the guest post – someone just used this tactic with me a few weeks ago – and it worked brilliantly!
Best of all, I love that THIS guest post is also driving a lot of traffic to Karol’s site (which is awesome!)… he’s telling us how he got lots of traffic to his blog WHILE getting lots more traffic to his blog. Brilliant!
Thank you for this article. There are many points here that I didn’t even think of despite seeing them in front of my face on several sites I follow on an everyday basis. Funny how that happens.
I also appreciate sharing your statistics as it really drives the point home with real results. That’s what I love to see.
Thank you!
Thanks, Karol!
Cool! Okay, so there is something more working under our nose that prevents us from writing high quality posts and writing guest posts. If only I were watchful of myself and my patterns that prevent to take these steps.
Maybe there are some characteristics, habits and hacks that make us rule the world. Time to revisit all of Zen Habits posts and find out where I should get unstuck.
Thanks Karol, Leo and Mary.
This post resonated with me and provided great value. The post itself demonstrates the effectiveness of (1) using screenshots or illustrations, (2) making strategic use of text formatting and (3) using lists to make your point. I like the fact that the post is a bit longer than is typical for blog posts. The techniques you used helped make this longer article easier to digest.
And the tip about guest posting – scares me! But perhaps that’s the best thing about the tip, because being scared ensures that I’ll make the effort to create especially good content that works for both my readers and the readers of the host blog. Now to find a host!
From a strictly business perspective, I can see how submitting a guest post would bring in *oodles* of traffic to your blog.
However, I think there is something even more beneficial to gain from guest posting.
It’s the gift that is giving.
The fact that you submitted to appear before an audience that’s much bigger than your own is very valuable. The fact that you would submit a post for an audience that seems like a trivial amount to you is a bigger sign of character.
So, in addition to shooting for the stars, I think I’m gonna reach out and try to help someone with a smaller audience such as mine. Maybe start a grass-roots movement.
Oh, Leo, Mary, Karl, You are free to submit a guest post for me. (Talk about someone shooting for the stars… he he)
Seriously, thank all of you guys (posters and commenters). I’m going to your blogs as soon as I follow Karl on Twitter and check out his blog!
Kevin
Thanks for the post. Stories are powerful (the latest brain research shows that we process info best as stories and that stories cause us to feel empathy). I’ve been reaching out for guest posts but have not done the obvious — attach the post! I will do that from now on.
The blogging course sounds interesting, and because your post was so convincing I’ll have to check it out. One can never learn enough about this thing called blogging!
I can’t be the only person who’s wondering just how you figure out a big blog that’s also in your niche. Most blogs don’t have their stats listed on the home page, so do you just go with your gut?
Wow! What a great article. I just returned from a little sabbatical and am fired up to get back into the thick of things. I definitely feel like my blog is stagnating somewhat and this article helped me get some fresh perspective on things. If you’ve got a little time on your hands and want to swing by http://www.wcayw.com I’d love to hear any and all feedback (the good, the bad, the ugly, and the inconvenient) so I can continue my quest for municipal domination.
Thanks Karol, Leo, and Mary for all of your great work in building the community of bloggers!
Thank you, thank you, thank you. This post is certainly very helpful and enlightening. I would love to attend the bootcamp but money and time are not in my favor at the moment. However, I am gathering information and this is extraordinary!
I’m starting to Blog and would love to reach out more and become professional in the near future. At 50, I have a lot of information and insight to offer!
~Teresa
Karol that’s an excellent case study! I am ready to write guest posts right now and get the most of my blog. Thanks for sharing your stats and providing great tips on how to write and pitch your guest posts. I am sure that a lot of bloggers can benefit from your example (I know I can).
It sounds like this A-list blogging boot camp is well worth the price of admission and teaches quite a bit. The only thing I dislike about the post is that there isn’t a simple way to sign up or get more basic information on the boot camp.
J-
It’s a powerful post because I feel like you relate your struggles with people like me, teach some valuable blogging tactics and even whip up some motivation. I’ve written a dozen or so posts and your life before your guest post resonates a lot with my story . It’s great to hear about someone who went from toiling startup to “on his way.”
I work very hard to get every single visitor to my blog, mostly through commenting. So now I’m going set a goal to create a guest post for a specific blog.
Thanks for showing that the hard work can pay off. I just visited Ridiculously Extraordinary and wasn’t disappointed. The pictures, like this post, really grab the reader.
The most important takeaway for me was that it’s good to push yourself to write some consistent content, in order to make sure you’ve got the will to make the most of the A-List Blogging Bootcamp and succeed as a pro blogger.
Karol, Great Post! It encompassed all the key elements for getting your message across. I’m a new blogger, and have already guest-blogged twice. I instinctively used a common thread, so…yay for me! Thanks so much- I’m going to save this in my IMPORTANT BLOG STUFF file. And Leo? I really want to win!
Best, Megan
The biggest trick is to keep all these points in mind — they make good sense, no doubt about it — and still be yourself and write in your own voice. If you can’t be authentic, then I don’t imagine the rest of it matters much!
Thanks Karol, Leo and Mary — I enjoy all of your blogs.
Firstly thanks Karol for the info, very clear and unambiguous. In a way its a pity that the stats centred around a post of zenhabits, it may have been more helpful had it been a not been Leo’s blog (not partisan and also a more predictable experience, zenhabits is the exception I think rather than the rule), but still good clear advice obviously based on direct experience.
Also thanks Leo for all the free advice you have given leading up to the bootcamp, very useful to someone like me new to the blogging universe. Although it is obviously aimed at driving people to sign up for the bootcamp, it is no less useful for that.
I am a virgin in this world (wow can’t believe I can say that and not be lying through my teeth:-)), and am very excited at the possibilities blogging offers. I am also very grateful to the experienced bloggers out there, like Leo, who are willing to share their immense experience and love of blogging with the plebiscites such as yours truly.
My blog is about the central human question: What is the Meaning of Life? If that’s something that sounds vaguely interesting check it out at http://www.goalisart.com
What an informative post! Karol comes across like a “Waahld and Craazy Guy” (apologies to Steve Martin and Dan Akroyd), but his information has always been top notch. His Blog Profits Blueprint (written in his longer hair days) was great stuff. Keep it up Karol!
You too, Leo and Mary – I hope to have a tenth of your success with a blog one day. (Maybe the bootcamp would help .
** NOTE: to be read in infomercial “testimonial” style **
You know what one of the best things about losing your day job is? Having the chance to work more on your blog!
Sadly my blog is currently in a state of complete and total disarray! No scan-ability, very few relative graphics, very few posts, and worst of all… only one (1) subscriber! Me!
Fortunately, thanks to the motivating power and sound advice from Leo Babauta, Mary Jaksch, and now Karol Gajda, I believe that I TOO have the chance to regurgitate my blog into something WORTH reading.
Thanks A-List Blogging Bootcamps! * THUMBS UP *
Karol, congratulations on the stunning success. I would like to counsel anyone considering the A-List Blogging Bootcamp to cease considering and sign up. I have a completely different kind of blog than Karol, or than Leo or Mary for that matter. And yet the steps I learned in the camp have doubled my subscriber count in 6 months. It was the best $$$ I have ever spent. And that includes the classic Chanel tweed jacket I bought in 1997…
I must admit that viewing the statistics from this guest post made me both excited at what is possible with only one post and also a little nervous I have never done a guest post before. There is a first time for everything!
The public accountability from joining the A-List Blogging Bootcamp and also the blogging consistency developed is something I need right now. It is too easy some days to just let things slide. Being in the public eye of your peers is highly motivating. I would love to be considered for a spot at Blogging Bootcamp.
– Laura
Karol, I appreciate the clear demonstration you provided of what’s possible with our blogs. Your Google stats are especially impressive.
Simply put, I’m currently not budgeted for this blogging camp, yet I’d love the opportunity to prove that I can follow Leo and Mary’s advice and skyrocket my blog in the way Karol did. I’ve done many of the things they’ve advised in Write to Done, yet I haven’t been consistent or committed enough. Maybe what I need are these two–and my fellow bloggers–cracking the whip over my head during the Bootcamp.
Great post Karol. I too really enjoyed the bootcamp experience and have to agree that the community is extremely helpful to new bloggers. Since launching my blog, The Art & Practice of Balance, http://www.practicingbalance.com on January 5, I have been working hard to create quality posts.
The biggest boost to my readership however, came when Mary Jaksch invited me to do a guest post on GoodLife Zen. It was amazingly effective! Now I have to make the time to focus on finding opportunities for more guest posts!
I have to echo Stephen’s appreciation for Leo, Mary and yourself sharing your experience and expertise! Thanks.
Hi Karol, this was a great post and an authentic one at that. You have gone into so much detail it’s hard for anyone considering joining to resist after this. The stats are also extremely impressive – congratulations.
I almost didn’t write this.
As I was reading your post (which I think is brilliant), my reptilian brain started acting up. My goodness, to contact other bloggers and send a guest post freaked me out big time. I don’t know if I can write well and I don’t know if I have good content.
I read a lot of blogs but hardly comment. I know it’s ironic to start my own blog if I fear I have nothing of value to add. But I did start a blog against the constant nagging of the resident ever annoying lizard brain of mine. It was the first move in stepping out of my comfort zone.
Then I dared after three months to ask my friends to have a look and give me some feedback. That was good. So now I have a handful of readers
Writing this is my third step. They say the third time’s the charm. So here I am. I would love a chance to attend the bootcamp. I want to commit to more action. I want to put myself out there. What is the worst case scenario?
My head is telling me to stop. There were so many brilliant comments and I don’t stand a chance. But I’m trying anyway.
Thank you Karol for your post and focusing on what is important and effective. Your advice combined with Leo and Mary’s generosity motivated me to move one tiny step forward. I am grateful.
Manal
Karol,
First, congratulations on your success!
Second, thank you for sharing with us your meaty roadmap that helped you accomplish it. What a great point – to write your guest post for that blog and its audience – such an important tip, yet one that’s easy to forget.
I admire your remarkable effort, work and desire to give back to help others thrive.
Many kudos.
Cheryl McLaughlin
Hi Karol
Thank YOU so much for writing this! It is such an awesome resource and I am so happy you shared it so that more and more people can really see what difference taking the right steps makes!
Great stats and congrats on your success! To many more
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