To blog or not to blog?

A predictable title, but that is a very good question. Having set myself up with a WordPress website about two years ago in a flurry of activity and then finding myself more of a reluctant blogger than I imagined, it’s a question I asked myself many times. I got off to a good start and wrote about five blogs, but then I dried up. I’m not sure if ‘dried up’ is the correct explanation, it was more of a shyness I experienced.

My doubts ranged from:

What if I can’t come up with something original?
What if someone reads this and thinks ‘who does she think she is’?
What if I don’t know what to write about?
What if I haven’t got time to write?

The more I listened to these doubts and ‘what ifs’ the more I veered away from blogging. Naturally the more I did this, the more the frustration grew. So, a few weeks ago I took the bold step to sign up for Nikki Pilkington’s ’30 Day Blog Challenge’. There are a number of these programmes around so have a look on Google and see what you can find. The benefit of these programmes is that you get sent an email every day giving tips and ideas on what to blog about; something to jog your mind. And there were some great tips and learning included too. I found them all very inspiring and it’s helped me to really get going with my blog. What else has happened is that I’ve discovered I really do enjoy writing and judging by the compliments I’ve received I’m not bad at it! Also the traffic to my website has gone increased by up to 800%.

So, if you are a reluctant blogger, I urge you to get on with it, you too may find you enjoy it! If you have any doubts here’s my top tips to help you conquer those ‘what ifs’.

What if I can’t come up with something original? Have a read of any magazine or newspaper, you will see that nothing is ever really new; it’s all just re-jigged versions, views and opinions.

What if someone reads this and thinks ‘who does she think she is’? So what, try it, you might find you like it and you get great feedback. We are all entitled to our own opinion, let yours be heard.

What if I don’t know what to write about? Write about things you think your readers will be interested in, think about questions you are asked everyday in your work or life. Have a read of the papers again and comment on items relevant to your industry or profession.

What if I haven’t got time to write? This was a big learning for me, taking up a 30 day blog challenge is a big task. A mistake I made was to give too much time to blogging and it began to affect my work/life balance. Avoid this by making sure you budget time into your schedule and give yourself time to blog.

An idea to get started is to comment on other people’s blogs, get started by saying something here. I’d love to hear your blogging stories.

Sue Bown, Personal & Corporate Coach, The Coaching Zone

Works with businesses and individuals to get better results, more efficiency, less stress AND more success.

Website: www.thecoachingzone.co.uk
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