7 Lessons You Should Learn from Linda Ikeji

This is a snapshot of Nigeria's most successful blogger, Linda Ikeji's first post on her blog and it is quite revealing, I will highlight lessons all aspiring bloggers nay, entrepreneurs can learn from her:

Linda Ikeji's 1st post on her blog

1. Do not stop trying to succeed because you have problems with entrepreneurship

Many aspiring business people get tired easily when a few of their endeavours do no turn out well. They get frustrated and are not willing to continue to fail. However, what many do not realise is that those "failures" are part of the learning curve they need to go through before they succeed. Linda was trying her hands at publishing a magazine when she started blogging and was getting frustrated at the lack of funds. I do not think she realised that blogging would be much more profitable than the magazine for which she was seeking funding and support to continue publishing. However, because she did not stop trying, she succeeded eventually in establishing a name for herself as a successful blogger.

2. Have an open mind

All too often, we close our eyes to opportunities that lie before us because we are too fixated on one idea and refuse to see other opportunities. Take a break from whatever it is you are doing now and review the entire concept and process, are there possibilities you are missing out on? Linda did not close her mind to blogging after publishing was giving her trouble, she simply went with what she felt was useful to her at that point and it became big!

3. Set a high standard for yourself 

Read the promise Linda makes at the end of her 1st post on her blog: "i promise to give you the best..make sure u visit this blog atleast everyday". It is not even written in correct English but it passes a message, a strong one: "I am going to give you the best, come back here everyday". That is a very strong and challenging commitment to make but it gives us an insight into her mission and vision for her blog. You should do the same for your blog or business, let your readers or customers have a firm promise and commitment from you. Then, do your best to deliver.

4. Be Consistent

Linda wanted people to visit her blog everyday right from the start. Why? Because she wanted to be consistent, providing her news sorry... gossip everyday and people have been returning like she requested. You too have to be consistent, we human beings are creatures of habit and old habits die hard. Once your customers know you will deliver the value you have promised them consistently, they more often than not will keep coming back.

5. Be Open and Accessible to People

You can see from her 1st post that Linda is a down-to-earth person, she states what she is doing, how it is going and what she hopes to achieve with her blog. She is not pretentious and I am sure people can relate to that even now. In short, whatever you do, keep it real!

6. Think outside the box 

Some might argue that Linda is just lucky with her blog. Well, she might have had an element of being favoured with her initial success but remaining on top of any activity requires a lot more than "luck". It requires brains to maintain the tempo and increase the rate of growth. If you fail to work smart, smarter people will beat you to being the best.

7. Build relationships

This is perhaps the most important part of her success. Linda seeks to make a genuine connection with her readers and it has paid-off for her. People feel like they are reading from a sister or friend when they are on her blog and it sometimes reflects in the comments that they make on it.

Love her or hate her, these are 7 lessons we can all learn from Nigeria's No.1 blogger, Linda Ikeji. Let me know what you think, are there other lessons I have overlooked? Or you think this post is just rubbish, all comments are welcome as long as they are not vile or obscene.