I'm really saddened when I hear people say that they don't write articles and publish them online because they tried it and it didn't work for them.
Did you know that since I opened my own account with Ezine Articles, back when I was promoting my self-care coaching business, my three most popular articles have been viewed a combined total of 72,235 times? Check out the latest report that EzineArticles just sent me: http://snipr.com/article-report.
Did I get all of those page views in the first month? No. In the first year? Nope. It's been four years since I posted these articles (you can tell by all of the Style Guide violations!!).
So please have a little patience with your article marketing. Be consistent. Submit clearly written and creative articles that speak to your target audience. And while you keep doing the things that make you great at what you do, your articles can be working magic in the background.
Article marketing isn't the only part of being a small business owner that requires patience. Idea Generator reader Gale Denning Mailloux sent these thoughts last week:
"Patience, oh patience....by staying in the moment to observe and be informed, and knowing it is NOT all about me, but the context...I have been able to generate creative ideas on how to continue to do what I love as a therapist even when economic realities have impacted my practice. I did not leap into the solution-only mode, but with patience, am able to co-create my practice with my clients, and enhance what I do. THAT is how patience has helped my marketing!"
Then I polled my new friends from the Twitter chat group #sbbuzz about patience. Here is a transcript summary of that part of the discussion, courtesy of the #sbbuzz website:
sbbuzz: Q1 from @lindadessau for tonight’s sbbuzz chat: How has having patience paid off when growing your small business? #sbbuzz
- BeckyMcCray: Patience pays off when it takes a dozen years to be an overnight success. You never know when it will come. #sbbuzz
- rongraham1: On Q1, it… ummm… hasn’t quite paid off yet. But it will. Probably starting middle of next month. LOL #sbbuzz
- bradfordshimp: Q1 – Hmm, sometimes I think I am being too patient (or maybe that is just procrastinating). #sbbuzz
- soclmediacoach: Q1: Slow and steady wins the race. I’ve seen my competition burn out and grow too quickly. We learned from that. #sbbuzz
- toddschnick: @sbbuzz need patience to be disciplined and dedicated to sustained effort #sbbuzz
- pardiman:
Q1 I’m the overnight success (taken almost six years to get there) I
originally had a five year plan, and then I was moving on #sbbuzz
- Whistletree: We often over-estimate what we can do in 1 yr. and under-estimate what we can do in 5. Keeping perspective is key. #sbbuzz
- rongraham1: @soclmediacoach, sometimes we just have that tendency to grow a lot when we know we can grow a little. I’ve seen that too. #sbbuzz
- adarowski: @sbbuzz Q1 We’re kind of in a crowded market, so patience was needed to allow the world to see why we’re different and awesome. #sbbuzz
- mattharrell: Q1: It’s taken a long time to land some customers…but when they came on our product was much better…and ready for them. #sbbuzz
- mattgillooly: @sbbuzz – Q1 – Waiting until 5 or 6 to crack a beer… Some days that takes a lot of patience! #sbbuzz
- pardiman: Q1 Now I introduce myself and people say I’ve heard of you. Build the brand one brick at a time.
#sbbuzz
- JoGolden: Q1 Perseverence is just as vital as patience and perspective–all 3= a triple threat to the competition #sbbuzz
- rongraham1: On Q1, those first few customers are really precious, because we want ‘em to become our champions. #sbbuzz
- pmohara: Q1 – I liked @mikemcderment’s #sbbuzz answer that the cover of Entrepreneur mag came from “stringing together 1000 tiny victories”
- RPamela: Q1 Patience=Results. Only a few are truly overnight successes. Relationships, trust and loyalty take time. #sbbuzz
- chelpixie: Q1 Patience I think came from hard work. I was too busy to notice I was being patient too.
#sbbuzz
- Timberry: Q1: in my case, owning the business outright, without investors, would have been impossible without patience. #sbbuzz
- merylkevans:
Q1 When I left corporate America for full-time freelancing, I had a
full load. I worked both jobs for 5 years before switching. #sbbuzz
- mattgillooly: @sbbuzz – Q1 – on the flip side, I’ve been really glad on a few occasions that I stopped having patience for a bad idea. #sbbuzz
- bradfordshimp:
I would add the caveat – patience on the right things – you can be
patient but be doing the wrong things and hoping they will work. #sbbuzz
- Whistletree: Sometimes patience can also turn into overthinking. There is a time to push a little, too. #sbbuzz
- rzazueta: #sbbuzz
Q1: Patience = sanity. Sadly, the world is not on your schedule. You
need to actively push, but you need to demonstrate patience.
- Timberry: Q1: Great concept from @trunkclubjlv: for startups, don’t wait until all the lights are green. Patience isn’t everything. #sbbuzz
- wvpmc: Hi everyone – sorry I’m late tonight – Q1 patience essential to weather economic cycles #sbbuzz
