It's that time of year again.
Along with cold weather here in the Northeast US, beautiful Christmas light displays and one of our favorite radio stations playing Christmas music 24/7 since Thanksgiving, it's again time for the Top 50 MLM Blogs Contest.
This is the first year I joined the contest and it was only with some arm twisting from some well meaning friends.
I hate contests because I don't like to measure my success against someone else.
But I entered our blog and have been pleasantly surprised at the response.
But besides that, I've learned a few weird things about myself by going through this experience… things that surprised me!
4 Weird Things I Learned About Myself
1. I LIKE Contests!
It turns out I really like being involved in contests. I don't know what it is, but it's exciting!
It's fun to get votes from people who you didn't expect and some you never heard of.
2. I am Super Competitive
I always knew that I like to compete for things, but my reaction to this contest surprised even me.
At times during this contest, I felt like Obama and the other candidates hawking for votes.
I'm not that proud of it, but I can see how politicians can go overboard very easily.
3. I Have A Lot More Readers Than I Thought
Many times when you blog, you have no idea the extent of your readership. You see, only a small handful of your actual readers will actually leave a comment, and that's about the only way you really know if someone is reading your stuff.
It turns out that I have more readers than I thought. What a nice feeling! 🙂
4. You Can Create Friendships and Collaborations with Your Competition
This one I never expected. After all, I'm competing against other bloggers, who would have thought I'd make some great friends during this contest… and even create a collaboration.
Here's what I'm talking about.
I was speaking with Mavis Nong, a blogging rockstar and a dear friend about ways to improve our standing in the contest (she is also entered).
We came up with a rather unique idea.
We've teamed up with 2 other top bloggers in the contest to offer anyone who votes for any one of us a Free Personal Invitation to a webinar in December.
This webinar will be exclusively for people who vote.
We are calling it the All Access Blogging Q&A Webinar
Here we are going to spill the beans about what has made us successful bloggers, give up some of our secrets that we don't talk about publicly, and answer each and every question that attendees have.
It will be great for everyone — experienced bloggers looking to up their game, struggling bloggers looking for more readers, and even people who haven't started blogging yet and don't know where to start.
It will be a really cool event, and it wouldn't have happened without this contest.
Very cool.
If you are reading this post before Midnight EST on December 2, 2011, there's still time to Vote and Get Your Invitation.
To Vote Click Here
We'll know automatically who votes for us and you will get your invitation to join us.
And if you're reading this AFTER the deadline, sorry you'll have to wait for next year.
Because that's another weird thing I learned about myself: I'm actually LOOKING FORWARD to the next contest!
How weird.
23 replies to "Top 50 MLM Blogs Contest: 4 Really Weird Things I Learned About Myself and My Blog"
Hi Bob and Rosemary! Congratulations on ranking #7!! That’s awesome. Thanks for all the value you provide.
Ps. Love the scenery you have on your blog. Reminds me of a seminar I went to in Enfield…. LOL
Happy New Year!!!
Hi Bob and Rosemary 🙂 Congrats on achieving #7! You are an inspiration for sure.
ps. I love the scenery you put on your blog… reminds me of a seminar in Enfield LOL.
Happy New Year!
Hey Bob,
I love your competitive nature and am happy that you were confident in your skills to put yourself out there. This is commendable…and in my personal opinion, you deserve any praise coming your way.
Blog on, brother! Love your shares! You are ACES in my book!
Best always,
Cat Alexandra
Thanks for the kind word and support, Cat.
You know, when I first considered getting into this content, there was that little voice inside my head saying “What if no one votes for you. You’ll look silly.”
Ah, those little voices! Happy that I ignored it and jumped in. And I was blown away by the support and good wishes I received, not to mention the votes.
The results are due out on Tuesday, so we’ll see. But no matter what the result, this experience was invaluable.
Thanks for being such a great supporter of my blogging efforts, Cat. Much appreciated!
Hi Bob! You have a great article. I like the way you assess yourself. Knowing yourself is important, most of all if your into a business. It tends you to know more about your clients too!
Hi Francoise,
I find it’s always great to freely and openly access yourself, both your shortcomings and your strengths. It helps you readers get to know you better, to see you as a person rather than an Internet Presence, if you will.
Thanks for your comment!
Bob, aloha. Congratulations on what you have learned about yourself and your blog. What I learn about myself continues to astound me.
In terms of readership, I would venture t say we all have far more readers than we think. Only a small percentage comment and I don’t believe everyone is tracked in our analytics. In fact, as I understand it, with Google, people have to click 2 pages for it to count.
Bob, I did vote for you even though I did not read this post until Saturday the 3d. Best of luck to you.
Enjoy a terrrific weekend. Aloha. Janet
Hi Janet, received your vote, thanks so much. Everyone who voted for me and the other bloggers involved in our collaboration will get a webinar invite. We’re just working out a platform and time.
I agree that we all have more readers than we think, but it sure is nice to see the evidence every once in a while. It’s so easy to think that we are writing for just a handful, those who comment on our blog posts. But like you said, only a small percentage of readers actually comment.
Aloha Janet, thanks for your insights here!
I have never participated in a contest, but I will re-think that next time. You’re right about not knowing how many people are really reading your blog and I can’t imagine the surprise when you finally realize it. You have convinced me to partake in the next one that I like.
Very cool, Sonia… let us know when you enter your first contest so we can support you!
Hey Bob,
Great post as usual. It’s amazing that you have done so well in the contest even though you didn’t like them before.
I don’t really like them myself but when I enter them I go all out 😀
Thanks for the kind mention and I look forward to our webinar.
Let’s rock it!
Mavis
Can’t wait for our joint webinar with our co-conspirators, Mavis.. it will be a blast. And thank you for being one of the bloggers who has shown me the ropes and provided me with endless support.
You are one of the good ones, Mavis!
I think you have taken good decision to measure your energy in a competitive environment.In the contest many famous bloggers are participating.
Hi Azhar, you are right. Joining a contest with so many top bloggers really gets your competitive juices flowing. And it gives one an idea of how they are doing, measured against the best.
Thanks for the comment. Great to see you here!
For someone who thought they didn’t like contests you are surely kicking #%&$ and taking names. I love your writing style. It is like you are just talking and I kept on smiling the whole time I read your post.
What wonderful words to hear, Joyce. I tend to write as I would talk to others, so that’s great to hear this kind of feedback!
We did better in the competition than I’d ever expected, although the actual results won’t be known until Thursday. I’ll report them here on this blog.
Thanks for the kind words!
I discovered that I enjoy taking part in the conversations. I learn something, and at the same time, I am given the chance to voice my opinion on the subject.
Happy weekend!
Very true, I’ve learned so much from joining in this competition. The best part? I’ve found so many more great blogs to follow. We have some very talented bloggers among us!
Commenting is a great way to not only voice your opinion, but to start conversations and build relationships with others. You never know where that will lead!
Hey Bob,
We never know how strong we are until a challenge/problem/contest shows up.
I had the same surprise with the blog readers..there are a lot of people who l prefer to only read and after a while they leave a comment, purchase something etc. This is how we get tested as bloggers.
Glad to see that Top MLM blogs contest was a good fit for you.
Wish you success with the contest 🙂
All the best,
Radu
Hi Radu, I love how you put that… “We never know how strong we are until a challenge shows up.”
This is so true, not just in blogging/writing but in all areas of our life. There is an old saying that “God doesn’t give us more than we can handle.” I’ve often questioned that over the years, but it almost always proves to be true.
Thanks for the comment!
Glad you had some really good experiences from this contest Bob. Isn’t it great to learn how many people are behind you when you need them the most? I know I am often surprised by this but it’s a fabulous feeling.
Best of luck to you and will keep my fingers crossed.
~Adrienne
I agree with Adrienne, we are not really aware that there are a lot of people to back us up if help and support is needed 😀
Did you won sir Bob?
Couldn’t agree with you more, Adrienne and Herbert. I am humbled to learn of all those that were willing to support me in this contest. It is truly a wonderful feeling! 🙂