Anyone who is anyone has a blog or so it seems. I never put much stock in blogs myself and thought that these were better left to subject matter experts rather than the vain, millennials whose mums spent too much time telling them, ‘you’re special’. Unfortunately we tend to hear more from the latter. Typically we get the displeasure of hearing of the injustices that their first-world, middle-class selves have suffered and not to mention their general dissatisfaction that they didn’t walk out the doors of university and into a corner office. I myself, am old fashioned. I like to express my dissatisfaction at my lack of corner office to my friends and husband – preferably somewhere with wine! So why am I writing a blog about blogs if I don’t care for blogs? It started with one terrifying sentence from my employer/mentor (when I grow up I want to be just like him), ‘Nicole, I’d like you start writing a weekly blog, it’s a great confidence building exercise!’
The not so crisis-y, crisis
The waves of nausea washed over me, I felt faint like the earth would swallow me up where I stood. ‘Sure’, was all that I could utter at that point. Meanwhile, internally I was suffering an existential crisis. ‘But I’m not good at writing’, ‘What would I write about’, ‘My knowledge and or opinions are not worth putting finger to key!’ and so on. In summation I was FREAKING OUT! So rather than focusing on how I was going to score some Valium I channeled that energy into focusing on blogs that I did enjoy reading. I read blogs written by someone I actually admire, that someone being Zoe Foster-Blake. Beauty magazine editor, author, blogger, entrepreneur, wife, mother and in my humble opinion superstar of the universe… yes the universe! (Number one fan girl, ‘I’ve read everyone of your books’, right here!)
Her blogs are witty, humorous and informative – everything that I wished my blog could be. So after binge reading her entire back catalogue of blogs, I was ready. As much as I hate to admit it – writing a blog was not so bad. I stuck to what I know, that I am passionate about and wrote as I if was having a conversation with a friend. After all, a blog by definition is a regularly updated website or web page, typically one run by an individual or small group, that is written in an informal or conversational style. So I had nailed the brief, great! Like I said the writing was easy. It was pushing the ‘go’ button and launching it into outer cyber-space that was the tricky part!
Having a blog and publishing it too!
I read, re-read and then for good measure woke up in a cold sweat at 3am to read it again. In the end it still wasn’t me that hit the ‘go’ button , it was published out from under me! So I waited. For the backlash, for people to tell me I was wrong or that my writing style mimicked that of a preschooler… but nothing. I actually got complimented on my writing and not just from my mum and grandma!
For anyone who has ever said ‘You can’t have a blog and publish it too’, (pretty sure no one has ever said that, just go with it) well yes I can and do, on a weekly basis! Writing a blog is a great way to boost confidence in your own writing style. It’s also a great way to introduce yourself to prospective clients via your website because as previously mentioned it’s a conversational style of writing rather than formal. There are a lot of great reasons to blog and to read blogs – I realise that now. Like anything, you need to find something that feeds you rather than leaving you or your audience wanting to write filthy remarks in the comments section. If you’re still unconvinced about writing a blog you can always tell yourself that maybe no one except your mum and grandma will read it? You know that the response will be that ‘it’s great’ and that ‘you’re special!’ 😉
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Experienced and written by Nicole Atkins (Campaign Crusader)
Author: Ronsley Vaz
Ronsley is the founder & chief day dreamer at AMPLIFY. He is an author, speaker & serial entrepreneur.
He has a Masters’ degree in Software Engineering and an MBA in Psychology and Leadership. He is known as the creator of We Are Podcast – the first Podcasting Conference in the Southern Hemisphere, and the host of The Bond Appetit Podcast and Should I Start a Podcast. He has an audience of over 3 million in 133 countries.