Not a single blogger exists that was not at some point an immature blogger. Even the current A-List bloggers started off being immature – the fiercest lion in the jungle was once a cub chasing butterflies.

It is part of the process, before you can become a mature blogger you need to go through the immature stage. You cannot skip this step. You cannot go straight to mature. Blogging is a learn as you go endeavor. At the beginning everything is new and you make mistakes.

You cannot avoid it, but you can be aware of it. First step is to admit you have a problem and only then can you start to heal.

During the two years that I have been blogging I have slowly moved towards maturity. Here are some changes that occur when you become a mature blogger.

You Forget To Check Your Statistics

For the first few months you are addicted to statistics.

How many visitors in the last couple hours? Even though there are never any surprises, its always two new visitors, you check anyway. Two visitors is not a lot but its better than nothing. You get a slight rush from seeing the visitors number increase. Unfortunately what you do not realize is that your mother, who is so proud of you, visits your website at least twice every couple hours.

It has been one hour since you checked your Adsense revenue so you check it again. And again you see the big green $0.00. Everyday and six times a day the zero is waiting to greet you. You know that it is going to be there but you do not care – you need to see it with your own eyes. A nervous goose constantly standing and checking whether her egg has hatched – nothing there but a goose egg.

The mature blogger knows that checking statistics once a day is plenty. And if you are lying in bed and suddenly realize that you forget to check your statistics, no problem, you will check them in the morning.

You Can Delete Content

Of course when you start your blog what you lack most is content. So you write. Driven by enthusiasm and excitement content spews out like ground meat. Every word is precious – the more words the more content.

At the end of your first month you look at the big pile of words and pat yourself on the back. Look at all my words, its amazing that I did all this in a week. Only a squirrel perched on top of his mound of acorns could be happier.

The mature blogger knows that it is not about the amount of words, its about the quality of words. A well crafted four hundred word post is a lot better than a two thousand word vomit. A mature blogger will never hesitate to delete words because he realizes that its not about the amount of words, its about what they say.

For You Three Months is Not A Long Time

The internet sends information at the speed of light. A nobody becomes somebody in less than fifteen minutes. On the internet things go viral – within days a video can go from being viewed by fifteen people to being viewed by millions.

New bloggers assume that everything works this fast on the internet, including their blog’s rise to the top. They believe that all they need to do is create content, let a few people know, and the internet will do the rest. They believe that to start an avalanche all they need to do is to roll a snowball down a mountain and gravity will do the rest.

A new blogger’s typical three month plan:

  • Month 1 (pack the snowball) : Create blog, write content.
  • Month 2 (start to roll the snowball down the hill): Market blog. Leave comments on other blogs, join forums, tweet all your friends about it. This will put your blog out there and people will notice. They will tell their friends and their friends will tell their friends.
  • Month 3 (cheer as your gigantic snowball causes an avalanche): Quit your job and move to Beverly Hills.

Matures bloggers wipe away tears of laughter as they hear these kind of plans from new bloggers. Mature bloggers know better, they think in years not months. They know that just like in the real world, persistence and patience win the day on the internet.

You Are Not Concerned With Fame Or Money

New bloggers are always prepared for the future.

They know exactly what they are going to say after the audience quiets down and Opera Winfrey asks them to tell their story. They know they want to go on a luxury cruise and then want a jet ski for the cottage – not the other way around. They realize that a Manhattan penthouse on fifth avenue is close to shopping but a mansion in Bel-Air is an ideal place to have a olympic size pool.

Fame and money lure many into blogging. They start their blog motivated by the prospect of a pile of money and adoring fans. They work hard and long hours believing that the internet will pay them handsomely for their effort.

The mature blogger know that the internet can’t care less about your efforts. The internet does not owe you a dime. Being hit by the ugly stick of reality, the mature blogger writes posts because they enjoy it, not for some crazy dream of chatting with Opera.

Are You A Mature Blogger?

I admit, I am still have some immaturity left in me. I still check my statistics way more than I really need to and I want a big pool. How about you? Are you a mature blogger?

About the Author

Roman Jelinek from How this Website Makes Money has really matured in the two years since he started his site. Although he will be the first to admit that his addiction to statistics is very hard to outgrow. If you find the article interesting, do take the time to subscribe to his feed. Roman has guest posted for Blogsessive before and you can read his other article here: How a Great Backlink Can Make You An Instant Success