Simplify Your Path to Success

You know the old saying — “Everything worth having is worth working for”?

Well, it’s totally true.

But I have an amendment to that — “Everything worth having is worth working smart for.”

Because as bloggers, we can work SO hard, but if we don’t have the right strategy, we’ll never get anywhere.

That’s why we need a blogging framework.

If you’re just getting started in the online business world, coming up with a strategy to get your business going can feel totally overwhelming. I mean, have you seen how much information is out there about online business and content marketing? Sure, it’s great that we have so much information at our fingertips… but I think it’s safe to say we’ve crossed over from “helpful amount of information” to “too much of a good thing”.

Just do a quick Google search on “how to start an online business” or “how to make money online” — there are literally millions of results! And those millions of results equate to millions of people telling you what to do — and they all seem to say something else.

So we end up bookmarking every page, filling up our Evernote files, and completely overloading our brains with information.

At that point, we’re so overwhelmed, we have no idea which direction to follow. What should we do? And in what order? What’s the right approach to take?!

We have two choices.

Choice #1: The Frankenstein Approach

The first choice we can make, is what I like to call “the Frankenstein Approach”. We can take all the information we’ve gathered and do our best to piece it together to form a coherent strategy and hope for the best.

Let’s take a look at the pros and cons to assembling our blogs in the style of Dr. Frankenstein’s monster.

Pro: It’s free (in terms of money)

One major plus side of taking the Frankenstein Approach is that we can do it for free. Because there’s so much information out there, we can reasonably put together a plan to get our blogs up and running without any financial investment.

Con: It’s not free (in terms of time)

Now, we might not spend any money when we take the Frankenstein Approach… but we’ll more than make up for it with how much time and energy we spend.

Trying to piece together a strategy from a million different sources is a huge time-suck. We end up wasting a ton of time and energy because the information is totally disorganized. We don’t know which steps to take — or in which order to take them — so we end up spinning our wheels without getting any results.

Pro: We get to be on top of the latest trends

The Frankenstein Approach can feel pretty exciting because we get to keep our finger on the pulse of what’s new and trending in the world of marketing. We get to read the latest news, find out the new trend, and then go and try it. That immediate gratification can be fun.

Cons: Those trends don’t deliver results

Now, while flying by the seat of our pants and trying new blogging trends left and right can be fun, it’s certainly not the most effective post.

When we’re constantly shifting gears and trying out new techniques — without a real framework behind them — we won’t get the kind of results we’re looking for (or the kind of results people claim we can get). And it’s not the trend’s fault — for all we know, the technique we’re trying might be super effective. We just don’t have the framework to support it.

And the more techniques and trends we try without results, the more frustrated and overwhelmed we’ll feel.

Pro: There’s a lot of great information out there

The truth is, there is a TON of great information out there on blogging. And a lot of it is available for free. So when we take the Frankenstein Approach and go through a lot of different resources, chances are we’ll be exposed to a lot of really helpful, useful information.

Con: There’s no way to discern the great information from the not-so-great information

Is there great information out there? Yes. But unfortunately, when we’re just starting out, we have no way of discerning what information is helpful and what information is useless for us and our particular situation.

For example, we might not know if what we’re reading is a useful tip for where we are NOW or for where we’ll be in six months. And if we try to implement the tip now if it’s meant for six months down the road, we’ll end up wasting time — and feeling super disappointed.

Or we might have all the puzzle pieces we need to successfully launch our business, but we don’t know how to assemble the pieces. What is important for me to do first? What can wait? When we don’t have the information we need to pull everything together, blogging all of a sudden becomes a lot harder than it needs to be.

Clearly, the Frankenstein Approach isn’t what I’d recommend. So what’s the alternative?

 

Choice #2: Follow One Framework

Following one framework will majorly simplify our path to success, and it’s 100% the approach I recommend.

A framework is a step-by-step process we can follow that tells us exactly what to do, how to do it, and when to do it in order to be successful with our businesses. When we follow a framework, everything we do builds on what we did before in order to accelerate our results and get us where we want to go — faster and easier than if we try to do it on our own.

And a framework approach is exactly what we teach here at Elite Blog Academy. It’s a methodical, step-by-step approach that might feel slow at first, but helps you make the right moves in the right order, which ultimately makes things a whole lot easier.

What are the pros and cons of following one blogging framework?

Pro: Focusing on one plan gets us where we want to go faster

As mentioned, following one step-by-step framework enables us to get where we want to go WAY faster than trying to shuffle through all the information out there and trying to figure out a strategy on our own. Because we have a step-by-step plan to follow, there’s no guesswork: we know what to do, how to do it, and when to do it in order to find success.

Con: We might not feel like we’re making progress when we’re starting out

I’ll be honest with you: doing the work to lay a solid foundation for your online business doesn’t offer the same kind of instant gratification that randomly following and implementing trends does. And because the beginning stages of following a framework are all about setting ourselves up for success — not getting results — it can be easy to feel like we’re not getting anywhere.

But here’s the thing — even though laying the foundation for success might not exactly be “fun”, it’s totally necessary if we want big results. The foundational aspect is something that’s missing from the Frankenstein Approach — and that’s the reason why it so rarely works.

Pro: There’s no analysis paralysis

When we’re faced with too much information — like we are when we take the Frankenstein Approach — it can be overwhelming. We end up getting “analysis paralysis” — we’re faced with so many choices and so much information, we don’t know what to do. We end up getting paralyzed by all the options, and so we do nothing — and, as a result, we get nowhere.

When we follow a framework, there’s no information overload. We have a clear, step-by-step guide to follow, and there’s not a crazy amount of choices to overwhelm us. All we have to do, is follow the path to success.

Cons: It costs money

There’s no way around it: in order to get a great blog framework, we need to invest money (like buying the EBA program). This can be a tough one for some of us when we’re first starting out.

And I totally understand that feeling! It can be frustrating to have to invest before we’ve made any money with our businesses.

But investing in a course — and in a framework — pays off in SO many ways. Not only do we get the exact process we need to successfully get our businesses off the ground, but we also put ourselves in better company. Because a course requires an investment, it weeds out the people who aren’t serious, so you’ll be surrounded by other people who are invested in their success.

Pro: The community factor

Speaking of community, the people we get to work with when we sign up for a course and get a blog framework are a major, major pro.

Going through a blog framework with a community of like-minded people who are on the same page and going through the same thing we are (at the same time that we are) is invaluable. Without joining that type of community, we don’t have anyone to lean on for support.

Pro: No need to weed out the bad information

When we have a blog framework, we know that we’re only getting the information we need — the blueprint to get from where we are to where we want to be. We don’t have to waste a bunch of time trying to discern the helpful from the not-so-helpful.

Pro: A good framework holds us accountable

Another major pro of following a blogging framework? It holds us accountable. When we have a plan to follow — and a group we’re following it with — it adds an extra dose of accountability for following that plan, which can help us become more successful than we would be without the framework.

Con: Business isn’t always fun

When we follow a blogging framework, it shows that we are treating our blogs as a business. Click to Tweet

When we follow a framework, it shows that we are treating our blogs as a business. And I’ll be honest with you — business isn’t always fun. Following a framework requires real work, dedication, and commitment.

But on the plus side, we get to reap the rewards as a result.

 

Final Framework Thoughts

Whatever framework you decide to follow — whether it’s the framework we teach in EBA or another framework you find — my biggest piece of advice is to stick with it.

Jumping around and trying out a bunch of different trends and techniques without any real thought or strategy behind it, is the biggest mistake we can make when we’re trying to get our businesses off the ground. When we try to get information from too many sources, all those voices become muddled and confusing, which dilutes the power of the teachings we’re trying to follow.

In other words, it’s not going to get us anywhere.

But when we follow a framework, we have a clear path. We have a map on how to get where we want to go.

So pick a framework, stick with it (until the end!), and follow that path. You’ll get there before you know it.

Be sure to claim this FREE resource that can help you gain the secrets to making your blog a success. Grab it here.