Savvy Affiliate

There Are So Many Things A Successful Blogger Must Do. Why learn them all when you can focus on your strengths

There are a lot of things that a successful blogger must be familiar with.  They include

• Html
• CSS
• PHP
• RSS
• SEO
• Generating Content
• Getting Backlink
• Tracking Stats
• Monetizing Your Site
• Affiliate Programs
• mySQL
• Taxes and Legal
• Databases and Backups

However many people starting blogging in the first place because they didn’t want to have to deal with those things.  Many people would like to focus only on a couple aspects of blogging, be it writing content, or SEO, or networking with other bloggers.  They don’t have the time necessary to learn the ins and outs of every detail.  But luckily they don’t have to!

So what can you do to help make your blog a success with out learning 5 different programming languages?  Outsource.   One of the biggest secrets to running a successful blog, or a company for that matter, is to pick what you are good at, do that, and outsource or delegate the rest of the work.

Self made minds wrote a recent article about blogging delegation and had a great quote

This is a good example of working in the business and not On the business

If you are spending too much of your time working at tasks you are not best at, then you are not maximizing your potential.  Instead of taking the time to learn a lot of skills you will need infrequently, contract them out to someone else.  That is a good way to ensure that you are thinking like a business owner, on how to expand your business, rather than like an employee, on how to do your job.

What are some things that you can outsource?  And how to do it?

1) Site Design - If you need a new design for your website, but aren’t very experienced at it, you may be much better off getting a more seasoned person do to it for you.  You will save yourself a lot of time, and you will get a better product in the end.   You can ask a friend to do it, pay someone to do it, or better yet Hold a Contest!

If you have a blog with a lot of viewership, try holding a contest where your readers can submit blog designs, you pick several that you like, and let your readers vote on the final choice.    Reward the winner by ensuring that their link is displayed at the bottom of every page.  (Works best if you have decent PR) What do you get out of this?  Well you will get a great looking site for starters.  You will also get increased ownership in your site from your readers.  If you change your site on your own, they may feel slighted.  But if you let them help you design your new layout, and vote on what they like best, they will be enthusiastic

2) Content Generation - If you would like to spend more of your time on networking and SEO and less on writing content, try getting some writers for your blog.  You can either reward them with backlinks or some ad placement on the pages they write.  This is great if you can get some newer bloggers who need to get some attention to their site and are willing to moonlight on your site to have a crack at your traffic.     As a bonus you will get a fresh point of view on your site, which may attract a new visitor base.

3) Technical Bugs - Although if you are running a program like Wordpress, you are not likely to have too many persistent bugs you don’t have to deal with these all yourself.  Try the wordpress support forums or any other technical forum.  Instead of spending your time trying to find the answer you can post a question and come back in a day for the solution.  Alternatively, try going down to the Computer Science classes at your local college to hire a student to help you part time.  They tend to be intelligent and cheap.

So do you do outsourcing for your site?  Do you try to run it all yourself?  Are you considering trying to expand your site and need help?