TIPS I DIDN’T PAY HEED TO
My web designer didn’t give me these 3 tips, and I didn’t do any of them.
I didn’t create a persona. I am who I am, and that might not work for everyone, but I wasn’t going to spend energy being someone I am not.
I hoped that what I wrote would be helpful, but I’m not convinced that has always been the case. Most of the time, I just had something pop into my head and I wrote about it.
My purpose was to write about some of the things that I talk about. So many times my clients say “say that again, I want to write it down” and I can’t because I think out loud. Blogging was a way for me to think out loud on “paper”. Not sure it’s a great purpose, but it’s something.
It was 2012 when my website designer told me that I needed to start blogging.
“You need to become a thought leader, and you do that by blogging. You take all the stuff you know and you write about it.”
When I think of ‘thought leaders’, I think about Brene’ Brown, Marshall Goldsmith, Simon Sinek, Daniel Pink … I don’t think of Jean Davidson.
Do I have thoughts? Sure
Do I have thoughts about my niche that I think are helpful? Yes
Do I believe I have thoughts that no one else has had or has written about? Not likely
As a matter of fact, I don’t often read any blogs by thought leaders that have terribly original ideas. I think they say some of the same things, but their packaging and marketing make them sound super smart and memorable.
I thought that in 2012, and I think the same today. So, what could I possibly blog about that is different? It’s not my amazing new thoughts – it’s my experiences and my stories – it’s the questions I ask.
For 3 years, I wrote blog posts every single week.
It was easy, it was fun and people really liked them.
I just wrote about what I was thinking about or what I was experiencing. I think it was my conversational style – my self-deprecating humor – my quirky perspective that drew people in.
So – what happened? Did I stop having experiences? Did I no longer ask questions that make us stop and reflect? Did I stop having a fresh perspective? NO!
At some point, I started to feel pressure. Pressure to be clever – to sound smart – to please everyone – to write really well, like I was trying to be published. That’s when I stopped writing. It wasn’t fun anymore. Every week, or every month, or every quarter I set a goal to “write a blog post” and I just never got around to it. I have so many blog posts started with a title and a sentence and then ..nothing!
Here’s the deal … I miss it. I don’t really care if anyone reads what I write. I need to write for me. I have spent time reading my old blog posts and they make me happy! It’s a documentation of what I think about and how I think about things – sometimes, it’s even pretty good writing!
So, I decided that I am going to start writing again. I’m writing for me, and if anyone finds value in what I am sharing, that’s cool, but it’s not my focus any longer.
If you missed me, I’m going to be back. If you didn’t, it’s okay, I’m really writing for me!