As someone who has never blogged a day in her life, I thought I would call myself out on being new to this realm of blogging before embarking on this exercise to write about all things in the e-marketing world. It’s been quite a few years now since blogging went mainstream and now the Internet is absolutely saturated with millions of different blogs. To start a blog now seems like a daunting task and, if I’m being honest, it is one task that totally intimidates me.
Somewhere in the back of my mind, I kept thinking over these last few years that blogging was something I should probably do. I just couldn’t bring myself to start one. It was intimidating then, when blogs were just emerging, and it’s even more intimidating now. It must be the fear of putting my voice out there for others to read and being judged on my content or (lack of) writing ability. What if no one likes my “blog voice”? What if I can’t be engaging? What if you think I’m unoriginal and passé?
Why should I write a blog in the first place?
The first slew of questions I’ll attribute to self-doubt and it’s probably time to just sweep those aside and take the leap. But the question of Why Blog? is one that should be reflected on and answered, I think, before even starting one. I think anyone with a blog, who truly wants to make something of their blog, should have some sort of central purpose for why they are writing. It is this core reason that will become the blog’s foundation and act as a guide that brings consistency and fluidity to the writers’ voice.
There are a lot of reasons that answer the Why:
- It’s an amazing opportunity to showcase who you are or who your company is.
- It can be an outlet for your beliefs, views, and opinions.
- It can act as a creative and interactive forum for you to share your knowledge or particular skill-set with others (and learn from them in turn).
- It is how you can engage with a wider community and possibly attract potential customers.
The reasons seem limitless but pick one or two and let that be your focus. My Why is to share what I am learning about e-marketing. It is a subject I am new to and one that I know very little about. What I share most likely will be things you already know but perhaps you will pick up one or two things along the way as I cast out my nets and try to reel in as much knowledge as I can about this vast and fast-paced world of online marketing.
To kick it off, I thought I would share some tips for creating a successful blog from an already successful blogger, Chris Brogan. After all, why start from scratch when the knowledge is already out there and I figure the first step to blogging as part of your online marketing strategy is learning how to do it right.
- Write to be helpful.
- Be brief.
- Tell a story.
- Connect others, if appropriate.
- Share. Often.
- Don’t overthink it. (It’s a blog, not a dissertation.)
- But be thoughtful.
- Don’t be mean.
- Publish often enough to build a relationship.
- But be mindful of your audience’s time.
Just reflecting on this list, I know I have a long, long way to go but I will definitely be keeping these in mind moving forward! And as one last reminder to myself, I thought I’d share this quote with you:
“Blogging is best learned by blogging…and by reading other bloggers” – George Siemens
So I’m off to read other blogs, starting with these that I found in this awesome and interactive infographic by ELOQUA & JESS3:
