I developed one skill the hard way over my 12 years as a blogger.
In truth, there is no other way to develop this skill because spotting and releasing poor blogging matches feels uncomfortable. No easy way exists for this process; only the hard way seems to be the way we all learn how to release bad clients, bad customers and fans who sour into nasty critics.
Three human beings come to mind as I ponder poor blogging matches I IDed and release in order to accelerate my blogging growth.
Popular Blogger with Deep Pockets and Short Arms
One popular blogger hired me to freelance for him. I wrote an article to meet his needs. He complained about the quality of the article. I spent a significant amount of time and energy adding every single detail he requested to the post, for the 2nd draft. He still claimed the article was not good enough. I simply released him and the money. He did not pay me for the service we agreed upon. I wrote one article and spent time and energy making substantial edits, going above and beyond to offer a high quality, detailed article. Old cheapy had a different opinion and squelched. I believe he is an OK dude but released him forever after the incident, never contacting him again.
My lesson: either get the payment up front or choose your clients with greater clarity and discernment.
Sponsored Post Customer Goes on the Lam
I wrote and published a sponsored post for a customer. She never paid me for the sponsored post. I gave her time to respond. She never replied to my emails. After 1 week, I deleted her sponsored post.
I learned how to identify someone who never intended to pay me in the first place. Any blogger who emails you 5-6 times BEFORE you place the post and emails you zero times AFTER you place the post simply ducks payment. Scared individuals never intend to pay. Rather than disrupt my peace of mind I deleted her sponsored post quickly and moved on.
Fan Turns Foe
One individual appeared to be my biggest fan. But one day, he messaged me a hyper critical email about one of my eBooks. He appeared to dig the eBook but it turns out, he deeply disliked the read, claiming I did a terrible job self-publishing the sucker. OK.
He then proceeded to crash and burn into a harsh critic. Rather than listen to his fear-pain projection, I blocked him on all social channels and through email until he disappeared from my experience.
I learned how some fans and dear followers may experience fear, pain and trauma in their life, triggering stuff the fans feel the need to project onto you. Any time a fan turns into a foe, just identify these haters for releasing. Obviously, the individuals love your work but some fear-pain inner shift transforms the love into the illusion of hate. Release critics because these lost fools try to create an energetic anchor holding back your blogging campaign.
At the end of the day, being a professional blogger involves developing the uncomfortable but necessary skill of spotting and releasing bad blogging matches who no longer support and uplift your blogging campaign. No one enjoys dealing with their first few non-paying customers or observing a rabid fan turn into an equally rabid foe. But all bloggers need to learn how to spot and release bad matches fast in order to grow quickly as a blogger.
I know you’re up to it.
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