This is a guest post from Onibalusi Bamidele, a young entrepreneur with a free guest blogging guide for more on how to get traffic and build your brand via guest blogging.
There are different types of bloggers with various levels of success. We have the average blogger and the super-successful blogger (often called the A-list blogger).
Many new bloggers think becoming an A-list blogger is all about writing content and promoting your blog. There is more to it than that, and there are reasons why many people will NEVER be more than average. The following are 7 reasons you might never be an A-list blogger.
1. You Don’t Manage Your Time
One thing I noticed from observing many successful bloggers is that they effectively use their time. A-list bloggers don’t spend every minute of their day on Twitter or on doing things that don’t matter.
One major problem I noticed among most new bloggers is that they obsess and waste their time on things that don’t matter. Time is very important and it waits for no man. It doesn’t help spending every minute chatting with friends or checking your stats. It is also of no importance checking how many new comments you’ve gained every minute.
A-list bloggers manage their time wisely and they only focus on what matters. You’ll hardly see A-list bloggers checking their stats 10 times a day or tweeting every now and then, but they rather spend their time on what brings results, such as creating new content, promoting their blog, and developing their own products.
Lesson: Manage your time wisely. Focus on what matters, not on what doesn’t.
2. You’re Not Disciplined and Consistent
Another reason many bloggers will never be an A-list blogger is because of their lack of consistency, they do things anyhow they want. If you take a look at highly successful bloggers from Darren Rowse to Brian Clark to John Chow and others, you’ll notice they have one thing in common and that one thing is consistency.
Being an A-list blogger isn’t as easy as many people think and one reason I so much envy A-list bloggers is because of their high level of discipline and consistency. I was so amazed when I read that Darren has been writing on his blog every single day for more than 5 years. Tell me, how will someone like this not be successful?
Being an A-list blogger is not only about you doing what you want. You sometimes have to do things you don’t want. You have to go out of your comfort zone and maintain a high level of discipline. You might not find it easy writing consistently but you have to do it for the sake of your success.
Lesson: Define your goals and how you will go about it. Always be consistent with it.
3. You’re Always Pissing Off Your Readers
Some people will never be an A-list blogger because of how they treat their readers. A-list bloggers are highly successful because they have a lot of readers, but one thing I noticed about them is how they treat their readers. They treat each and every one of their readers with respect.
Your readers are the building block of your success and you shouldn’t treat them as if they don’t exist. You should treat them as if they are a major part of you. One major way to make sure you don’t piss your readers off is by getting and acting on feedback from them.
Lesson: Listen to your readers, and treat them with respect.
4. You Don’t Have a Specific Niche
A-list bloggers are A-list bloggers because they’re respected in their niche. Some people won’t be an A-list blogger because they lack a niche. We know Darren Rowse as an A-list blogger in the blogging niche, Brian Clark as an A-list blogger in the copywriting niche, and Leo Babuta as an A-list blogger in the personal development niche, but we are yet to see an A-list blogger in all niches.
You can’t be an A-list blogger by being a jack of all trade and master of none. You have to be a master of one trade. Try to find the niche that fits you best, adjust yourself to it and work on making yourself the best in that niche.
Lesson: Focus on being the best in one niche.
5. You’re Not Analytical
A-list bloggers are highly analytical, and when I talk about being analytical I am not talking about being addicted to stats. A-list bloggers easily spot opportunities and make the best of them.
Many new bloggers just visit the blogs of the A-list bloggers and copy and paste everything they see. A-list bloggers don’t use elements on their blogs because every other person uses it – they analyze and test everything to make sure it works for them.
Another great thing about A-list bloggers is that they easily spot and capitalize on traffic sources. I’m not talking about the highest traffic source, but the best. Anytime an A-list blogger notices traffic from a particular source and they see that the traffic is quality traffic, they will work on getting more traffic from that source.
Take a look at ProBlogger, for example. He noticed the importance of building a mailing list (that’s part of being analytical) and he capitalized on it, he’s not just building a list because others are, but because it is working for him.
Lesson: Don’t follow the crowd. Test and use what works for you.
6. You’re Not Focused
Lack of focus is another major reason why many people will never be an A-list blogger. Highly successful bloggers don’t rush things together, but they spend time to find what works and then focus on it. You don’t necessarily need 10 blogs before you can succeed. Instead, you can focus on making one a huge success. Even if you see A-list bloggers having more than one blog, it is usually because they’ve made the earlier ones a success.
A-list bloggers don’t just work on a project for two days and then quit in the name of not getting results. They work and focus on one project until they get results.
Lesson: Having one blog that brings result is better than having 10 blogs that don’t.
7. You‘re Not Patient
If you have all the above traits and you don’t have this one, you’ll never be an A-list blogger. Not only are A-list bloggers wise, they’re also very patient.
Most new bloggers start a blog with the hope of getting rich overnight, then they later quit after months of not seeing results. Some bloggers have been in this space for years, and if there is one thing you can learn from them it is that he is a great example of patience. You shouldn’t quit at every challenge. You should give your blog a lot of time to see if you’re on the right track. Many people quit when they’re almost successful – keep on trying and waiting until you get results.
Lesson: Lack of patience won’t get you anywhere. To be highly successful, you have to be patient.
What Do You Think?
Which of the above mistakes do you think is most common among new bloggers? What do you think about this post? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments section.
About Onibalusi
Kikolani covers blog marketing and blogging tips for personal, professional, and business bloggers to succeed in search and social media marketing. Kristi Hines is a 
I think I’m doing quite well actually after reading through this, the only thing I need to do now is carry on writing, sit back and watch the views roll in… lol
Good tips though, especially about not pissing off readers! I’ve deleted rss feeds from some blogs because of that
Joe@Grime and Gears recently posted Truck Tuning
Good! It is sometimes very important to re-access yourself to see if what you’re doing is right, if not, then you need a change.
Onibalusi Bamidele recently posted The Constant Battle of Monetizing a Blog
Well, the most active guest blogger around has done it again.
Great read, Oni. I believe you’ve neglected to mention networking, and that is a very important part of blogging, especially to an A lister.
SEM Blog Dan recently posted BlogEngage Guest Blogger Contest Wrap-Up
I think all of the reasons are very valid and I agree with most of them – and I’m not even close to being an A-list blogger
I would also suggest that if you’re focusing too much on monetizing could be a reason you’re not going to succeed, but I guess you could put that under “6. You’re Not Focused”.
Klaus @ TechPatio recently posted 10 Best Printers for Amateur Photographers
Exactly Klaus,
Making money from your blog is not a bad thing but if that’s all you’re thinking about you’re making a big mistake.
Onibalusi Bamidele recently posted The Constant Battle of Monetizing a Blog
Really great post! Moreover it’s written by a 16-year-old entrepreneur.
Thanks Onibalusi, you just inspired me and motivated as well
7 points above are not simple, but the hard-workers and smart people are able to achieve them.
Hi Tantan,
Thanks so much for the compliment, and I’m happy to have motivated you.
Also, thanks so much for the follow on twitter.
Onibalusi Bamidele recently posted The Constant Battle of Monetizing a Blog
I may not want to be an A-List Blogger, because then you sort of paint yourself into a corner when it comes to others expectations. People will come to expect that you put out content on certain days, quality of content and so on. You basically made a new “Job” for yourself, and when I start traveling I’d rather not be tied to my keyboard. but rather post when the time calls for it.
Larry Clark @ Niche Think Tank recently posted Income Report for August 2010- Niche Profit Course and ReviewAzon
Hi Larry,
Real A list bloggers have so much GSC (Guest Submitted Content) lined up that they can afford to take the longest vacations without anyone actually noticing
SEM Blog Dan recently posted BlogEngage Guest Blogger Contest Wrap-Up
What do I think? I think I congratulate on another spot-on article. Nothing much to add except to become a-list blogger, you need to connect with fellow bloggers in your niche and create a following via social networking sites.
Great Andreas,
I’m glad you enjoyed the article.
Onibalusi Bamidele recently posted The Constant Battle of Monetizing a Blog
This is a great post, often times our own success (whether in blogging or otherwise) depends mostly on our ability to focus and maintain discipline. Many new bloggers (and even seasoned veterans) fall into the trap believing it’s an overnight process.
Maria Reyes-McDavis @ Online Marketing Blog recently posted Social SEO Friendly Facebook Profile & Pages
Exactly Maria,
Discipline is a must and it is what all A-list bloggers stand by.
Onibalusi Bamidele recently posted The Constant Battle of Monetizing a Blog
Excellent post
I know I have intentionally done many things to prevent and block my success sometimes we can be our own worst enemies, but I would of rather done that then turn into some fake jerk selling crappy products
Now I can make some adjustments and cash in
Young man you are everywhere
@Kristi You popping that A List right about now
Like the way you styled and presented the Guest post
Excellent
To all your success @ All Bloggers
Stumbled
Thanks
Hi John,
Yeah! You’re right. I have also done a lot to affect my success but I think to every success there has to be a failure – what now matters is what you learn from that failure, does it help you improve or make you feel dejected?
Concerning being everywhere, thanks!
Onibalusi Bamidele recently posted The Constant Battle of Monetizing a Blog
really great points , i do believe i the power of managing the time and being so organized cause that will make you later enjoy every single moment while you know already your plan ! the focusing point is interesting for sure as well as giving importance to readers and sharing well and communicating with them !!! well done , great post
Exactly Rahul,
Being organized has a long way to affect your success.
Onibalusi Bamidele recently posted The Constant Battle of Monetizing a Blog
It seems that patience is the overriding factor on all of the other items. We can test, survey the results and then adapt the blog. But if you don’t wait long enough to validate the change . . .
Finding a niche takes a lot of discipline. Is it too broad, too narrow, too personal and not marketable? Time will tell. Again, patience.
Thanks for bringing that into focus Onibalusi.
Gib recently posted Top 10 Places to Have Thanksgiving Dinner
Hi Gib,
So true!
Patience is the key. It doesn’t matter how great or effective you are, if you are not patient you won’t get much results.
Onibalusi Bamidele recently posted The Constant Battle of Monetizing a Blog
Wow, that’s a very insightful post for a 16-year-old writer! I agree with all the points, but also must say that sometimes spending your time in Twitter is not necessarily wasting your time, if you use Twitter as part of social websites strategy to attract and communicate with your readers. If you have good list of interested followers, you can update them on new posts, and that will drive traffic to your website.
Stacy @ Essay Writing Blog recently posted Inquiry Essay
Yeah! Thanks so much for the compliments.
Spending time on twitter isn’t bad, at least it still sends the best type of traffic to my blog. What I’m trying to say is that you shouldn’t be on twitter all day, your time can be spent doing something more important.
I believe everything should have a limit
Onibalusi Bamidele recently posted The Constant Battle of Monetizing a Blog
That’s a great post Onibalusi!
You’ve touched all the important points for becoming an A-list blogger and if people will follow your advice, they are on their way to become successful.
Thanks for sharing that!
Eugen
Eugen Oprea recently posted Roving Robin Report – On Connections & Technical Details
Exactly Eugen,
I’m glad this post could help.
Onibalusi Bamidele recently posted The Email Battle Axe – How to Effectively Deal With Emails as a Blogger
Good post and I agree with everything you said. I always try to remind my clients to focus on creating outstanding and useful content for their niche on a weekly basis. By doing this they increases their chances of becoming an “A-List Blogger” in their respective niche.
Rodney @ new home building recently posted Getting Pricing and Builder Estimates for Your New Home
Exactly Rodney,
Focus on creating outstanding content and it will be very easy for the money to come.
Onibalusi Bamidele recently posted The Email Battle Axe – How to Effectively Deal With Emails as a Blogger
Insightful post here! I think the biggest challenges are definitely #1 and #5. There are so many regurgitated posts out there, it’s frankly quite shocking! The best blogs definitely convey a certain “voice” that appeals to readers. There’s a level of depth and unique thought there. It can also definitely be hard to resist the temptation of checking email and comments compulsively, ha ha, but we must soldier on and set our sights on producing unique and relevant content, don’t we?
Cool Michael,
Exactly! There are some things that seem unavoidable but being successful is more about being disciplined.
Onibalusi Bamidele recently posted 7 Solid Tips to Improve Your Experience of Working From Home
I am really missing a lot of things out! I am very far from becoming an A list blogger. Thanks for the above pointers, I think I can use them as my day to day checklist or at least, I will try to follow or incorporate some of it little by little.
Ron Leyba recently posted Video Game Testing Jobs
Great Ron,
I’m glad this post could help.
Onibalusi Bamidele recently posted The Email Battle Axe – How to Effectively Deal With Emails as a Blogger
Time management is the number one, along with patience. From a professional point of view, getting clients and ourselves to put aside and effectively use time for successful blogging is a challenge.
Then there’s the patience required to know that if you produce quality content on a regular basis it will happen – but it won’t be overnight.
From a personal point of view, having a really tight niche is MAYBE where I let myself down. I focus on a topic, but not a topic within a topic. Maybe I should!
Good post, thank you very much!
Ben Greenwood recently posted Google Instant Preview – How Does It Affect SEO
Exactly Ben,
You got my point! Managing your time is very critical to succeeding as a blogger – All A-list bloggers have this trait!
Onibalusi Bamidele recently posted 7 Solid Tips to Improve Your Experience of Working From Home
Excellent post Onibalusi! Really great points. I just think that the biggest problem for any blogger is a lack of a definite plan. If you act impulsively, without a vision and specific goal, it will be hard to earn A-Blogger status.
Peter from Blogging Mechanics recently posted 3 Key Triggers in Your Marketing Message
Exactly Peter,
Many people don’t have a plan and having a plan is a must to succeeding online.
Onibalusi Bamidele recently posted The Email Battle Axe – How to Effectively Deal With Emails as a Blogger
I agree with all but 3; #3 that is. I totally agree that this is what you should do. I absolutely do not agree that the majority of “A-listers” do it.
Dennis Edell @ Direct Sales Marketing recently posted The Time Has Come! The First New Network Blog – SBBC – is Being Launched! Read This Entire post!!
Great Dennis,
That’s cool to hear.
Thanks so much for the awesome comment!
Onibalusi Bamidele recently posted 7 Solid Tips to Improve Your Experience of Working From Home
Focus and time management is something not everyone can handle, me for instance. But as time goes by, we learn from our shortcomings.
Great post and thank you.
igoydude recently posted Globe Tattoo Broadband Internet Download Speed is Amazing
Exactly Igoydude,
Focus and time management is very important – focus on one thing till it is done, and you will surely get results!
Onibalusi Bamidele recently posted 7 Solid Tips to Improve Your Experience of Working From Home
Hi Oni,
I think patience is the one virtue that will help people the most. Most people have short attention spans and want instant results. However, in blogging it can take several months before your blog really takes off and you see results. Many bloggers give up before that time, and may have even been on the cusp of success. The other traits are easier to learn as long as one has the patience and persistence to stick with their blogging adventure.
Richard recently posted How to Make Money on Twitter
Exactly Richard,
Patience is a virtue and it is inevitable – It really helps to be patient!
Onibalusi Bamidele recently posted 7 Solid Tips to Improve Your Experience of Working From Home
Onibalusi, I’m a big fan of yours… The problem with me is I thnk I’m not Disciplined and Consistent, I loved so much things and wants to a blog on all of them.. So, this is really a problem in my blogging career.. I wants to solve it, but don’t know how..
Arif Nezami recently posted Make Your WordPress More Secure
Awesome Arif,
Onibalusi, I’m a big fan of yours…, you don’t know how much that statement means to me. Thanks so much!
Concerning loving a lot of things, you have to choose what you love most and stick to it – it surely will help!
Onibalusi Bamidele recently posted 7 Solid Tips to Improve Your Experience of Working From Home
Sometimes you don’t have much time for lots of things and you need to adjust your routine according to that.
Bishwajeet recently posted Hostgator Black Friday Discount 80 off
Exactly Bishwajeet,
Effective time management is a must!
Onibalusi Bamidele recently posted 7 Solid Tips to Improve Your Experience of Working From Home
Meh. Like others above, I don’t care for an A-List inclusion either. I write what I want, analyze what I want, and do what I want. The moment I stop writing for myself is the moment I cease being me.
Ari Herzog recently posted When the Internet Dies
Exactly Ari,
That’s one great characteristic of A-list bloggers, they write from their heart and they use their own unique voice without trying to imitate anyone.
Thanks so much for the awesome comment,
-Onibalusi
BTW: Did you see my email reply?
Onibalusi Bamidele recently posted 7 Solid Tips to Improve Your Experience of Working From Home
I know two well known blogs by A-list bloggers with tens of thousands of RSS feed subscribers that don’t have their own domain name and template blogs. It’s probably the same basic blog template they set up years ago and when you first see their blog it definitely doesn’t say “warning you are entering the zone of an A-list blogger”. But these two are big exceptions. Every other A-list blogger I’ve come across has their own domain name and a unique blog design which makes them look professional.
IslamInsideTheHeart recently posted Download Islamic Calendar 2010 Based One Ummul Qura System!
It’s really hard I know I have friends who struggle daily with their blogs. It’s sad to see them spend day’s on their site not to see any traffic but most of them don’t get out there and expose their site. Even if you spend 24 hours a day if you don’t work in all other areas you won’t get anywhere gotta spread out your resources! Thanks for the great tips!
Shala Emmerson recently posted Game Tester
Hi Onibalusi thanks for enjoyable reading. I agree on all the seven findings you mentioned.
And maybe I would add 8th finding: You are not unique enough – Lot of bloggers look up to other successful bloggers so much that they are trying to be like them, they are trying to write the same way and focus on the same topics. This is definitely not the way how to become an A-blogger.
Hi Oni: What has been written here is not only true for blogging, but for life itself in general. I mean about using time effectively, being nice to people ( readers ), etc. Thank you.
Satyavan Raj recently posted Understanding marriage partners
Ugh..great article. Somehow I felt like I’ve been stabbed a few times while reading it. Sometimes I waste my time just to write an article and that’s it. Rarely do I use it for marketing, link building, or finding out what’s work and what’s not
Michael Aulia @CravingTech.com recently posted Top 10 Christmas Gifts 2010 List
Right on! This is a great read and a solid list of tips for any blogger, no matter how long you’ve been at it.
I would add that like testing and knowing when to capitalize on traffic are vital to success, making face-to-face connections is also very important too. Get out from behind the screen and meet people. Go to conferences where A-list bloggers hang out, go to where your readers are at and listen to them, talk with them, learn from them. Besides, doing those things, you also have to be willing to fail in order to be A-list blogger. Fight the fears and follow your dream!
Thanks again for writing this post
Chris Catania recently posted Livestream Event- My Chemical Romance Chats Live with Fans- Talks New Album
Hello…I am here from lawmacs.com. Excellent post. I have learned a lot from your your reasons. I will surely keep it in my mind. Thanks again. Keep writing
Great post Onibalusi. After reading your article and some of the comments above, I think that there really should be 8 reasons and not 7. The 8th would be not paying attention to number 1 – 7
In particular, there is something you said that might have been overlooked by some and I would like to further enhance its importance and that is “Having one blog that brings result is better than having 10 blogs that don’t.”. Very true. Something like “10% of 100 than 100% of nothing”. Thumbs up.
DiTesco recently posted 4 Tips On How to Blog While You Travel
You are so young but if you wrote this post yourself – my respect! I guess in future you’ll get in A-list if you aren’t here yet.
I agree with the point about respecting your readers and commentators. I don’t understand blog owners who visit their blogs from time to time and don’t approve the comments. respect other people and people will respect you. And your goal – A-list – will be achieved.
Hi Onibalusi! I think I need more patience to become an A list blogger. Sometimes, we will be easily get frustrated when we do not see any result from our effort. We should give more time to ourselves to see the result. Thanks for your sharing Onibalusi!
Actually, I’m not so sure about the pissing off the readers point. Most bloggers I know don’t intentionally go around pissing off their readers.
As for the A-Listers, the reason they don’t piss off their readers is because they hardly ever interact with them in the comment section.
Some of them are also pretty arrogant, not so much on their blogs as on some blogs they comment on. Not all mind you, just some.
Sire recently posted Procrastination And How It Can Cost You Money
I think #2 applies to most new bloggers; lack of discipline and consistency. Newbies are full of enthusiasm when they start, then get diverted onto other money-making projects, when that doesn’t work they try something else. Eventually they may get back to blogging, but realise that they need to stick at it for everything to work out.
John McNally recently posted What are STARS
Wow. You totally just exposed my deepest flaws with a super powered high beam extra halogen floodlight. I saw some in the cracks I didn’t even know were there.
I got some work to do, but I thank you for your insights. This helps that ultimate goal get a little more in focus.
anthonynlee recently posted Want to be a Success in Business Go to Bartending School