Behind Successful Blogs: An Interview with Nate Whitehill

If you’re a fan of reading blogs about business and creating success, you’ve probably heard of Nate Whitehill, the 23 year old blogger, entrepreneur, and co-founder of the web design company InfinFX.

Nate has had incredible success with his blog since its beginning just six months ago in January of 2007, recently doubling his readership in a 30 day time period and being recognized for his insight by some of the most prolific bloggers in the industry.

Nate’s been leveraging the power of the internet to build thriving online communities since the age of 12. With an early version of AOL and an entrepreneurial mindset, he created and grew a 300 member online Kids Club, hosting monthly chat room meetings and publishing a monthly newsletter.

The beauty of Nate’s blog, and likely the reason why he has been referenced on so many top blogs such as ProBlogger, BlogTopList, and Marketing Pilgrim, is not only that he provides excellent, useful content, but also because of his deep level of honesty and transparency.

Nate doesn’t hold back the critical information that has made him a success. You won’t find egos here, just a passion to share the information, processes, and the lessons learned through trials and tribulations of an entrepreneurial spirit on the path to success.

If you’re a new blogger and trying to figure out how this whole blogging things works, or a seasoned blogger looking for useful insight, Nate’s blog is a fantastic resource.

How Blogging Changed Nate’s Life

Like many, Nate’s original goal when he began blogging was to drive more traffic to his company’s website and to meet like-minded people. What he discovered in the process, was that blogging completely revolutionized his life.

Before blogging, Nate was in a miserable place in his life. He was in school full time pursuing a degree that he wasn’t entirely passionate about. He had just moved from Washington state to Arizona and was working at the Apple store, feeling as if he was not being paid anywhere near what he was worth. In short, he wasn’t enjoying any aspect of his life and knew that he had the potential to become so much more than his current situation reflected.

Blogging allowed Nate to live out a principal that nearly every success coach suggests is a key factor in redirecting one’s life: to begin projecting and living the life that you are working toward, rather than dwelling on the aspects of your current life that are not working.

Blogging allowed me to control how I wanted to be perceived.  Through blogging, Nate was able to project that part of himself that is passionate about entrepreneurship, creating success, and sharing what he’s learned with likeminded people. Instead of associating himself with a guy who was miserable in his current situation, blogging about his passions and receiving positive feedback from readers caused him to begin associating himself with the highly successful person he knew himself truly to be. What we believe ourselves to be, we become.

“People can dramatically change their lives in 6 months,” says Nate. Today, his business is soaring. His blog has not only generated a loyal following and advertising revenue, but also new clients for InfinFX and a new business venture partnership.

Nate’s Advice for New Bloggers

Choose a topic that you’re passionate about: It’s critical to enjoy what you do and feel like you’re doing it for the right reasons. Nate says that even if he were to achieve financial independence through his business ventures, he would still continue to blog because he is genuinely passionate about his topic.

Consistency: Credibility comes from being persistent and consistent. Though it can sometimes be difficult to find the time or a topic to write about, challenge yourself to post anyway. The indirect benefits overcome any frustrations. One strategy Nate uses is to write down post titles as they come to mind for use in the future.

Create a support system: Blogging can be an isolating experience. Nate says that creating a support system of family, friends, and other bloggers is an extremely important aspect of successful blogging and success in general. His parents were his first fans and subscribers, giving him the initial motivation to continue with his dreams. Since then, Nate has met many bloggers that he counts among his support system. People look at business as a competition, but blogging is about working together.

Don’t start blogging strictly for profits: It takes a while for a blog to become extremely profitable. If you’re starting a blog asking yourself, “how can I make millions? Nate says you need to reevaluate your reasons for blogging.

Write from personal experience: There is already a surplus of generalized articles online. “What is special about someone’s blog is their personal option- being able to provide their own experiences,” he says.

Ask readers what they want: One of the ways that Nate is able to consistently hit the target with his readers, is because he asks them what they want to hear and listens to reader feedback from emails and comments. One of the defining moments in the blog’s progress was when Nate issued a poll asking readers to choose which topics they’d be most interested in reading about.

See everyday as an opportunity to achieve your goals: Ask yourself, what can I do in the moment that I can enjoy and could have profound implications for my future? Understanding how blogging fits into your ultimate goals and constantly reminding yourself of this larger purpose is a great way to continue moving forward, even when you feel like you may be in a slump.

Be Patient: Be patient when it comes to growing your readership or monetizing your blog. Most bloggers quit after the first month because they aren’t seeing traffic or results. In his own words, “anything that is worth having takes a lot of hard work. When you first start blogging, it may not be easy in the moment, but it can have such a life changing impact, its worth it if you want to become successful.”

This is NOT a sponsored interview