MackCollier.com

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If you want to be a great blogger, you have to develop your blogging voice

Last night during #Blogchat I asked my friends what was the ONE thing they believed made a blog great.  The vast majority of the answers were associated with content.  Creating amazingly, great, valuable content.

I disagree.  In my mind if you want to be a successful blogger, here’s the secret: You have to believe that you have a voice worth sharing.

A few weeks ago I went back and read some of the very first blog posts I ever wrote, almost 6 years ago.  I literally cringed at some of the logic I used, the points I was trying to make.  A lot of it was wrong, but the thing about it is, I wrote from a place of conviction.  I believed that I was right, and that I deserved to be heard.  And as a result, people responded to what I wrote.

People want to read bloggers that are passionate about their ideas, that believe in what they are saying.  For example, one of the common worry issues for bloggers is the idea of blogging about a topic that ‘everyone else has already covered’.  Or blogging about the ‘hot topic of the moment’.

How many times have you read a blogger mention a topic that other bloggers have covered, and just link to those bloggers and add ‘check them out’.  Ummmm…..no.  We don’t want that, we want to hear what YOU have to say about this same topic.  Don’t just point us toward those amazing blog posts, if they are truly amazing, then we’ve probably already read them anyway.  Your job is to tell us what YOU think.

“But what if someone says my post stinks?”

Then you know you are REACHING people.  Not everyone is going to agree with your ideas.  In fact you WANT some people to disagree with your position.  That’s how you learn, by looking at different angles to the same topic.

You have a blogging voice that deserves to be heard.  Even if only one person reads your blog.  We all want to feel good about the content we create on our blogs, and we all want to feel like we are making a difference and connecting with others.  How can you truly connect with anyone if you don’t put yourself and your opinions out there?

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About Mack Collier

My name is Mack Collier and I am a digital marketing and content strategist located in Alabama. Since 2006 I've helped companies of all sizes from startups to global brands such as Adobe, Dell and Ingersoll-Rand, create customer-centric programs, content and experiences. A long-time internet geek, I've been online since 1988 and began using social networking sites in 1991 when I joined Prodigy. Today, I help companies understand how new technologies like web3, crypto and artificial intelligence can integrate with existing marketing strategies to lead to exceptional customer experiences.

Comments

  1. LisaPetrilli says

    Mack,

    I couldn’t agree more. At the same time, this is so difficult to do in real life. Putting our real voice “out there” makes us vulnerable in ways most of us are not used to in business. It means saying, “here’s who I really am” and knowing there’s a chance some people won’t like the real us, let alone agree with our position.

    But if I can read a blog post that does not have a name attached to it and still know who wrote it, then it means I’ve genuinely connected with that blogger’s voice – and that it has resonated with me and impacted me enough to stay with me. You are one of those bloggers.

    You’re right – we’re all worthy of being heard. It’s sometimes easier to simply accept that fact than to take the next, important step…writing from within. Sometimes letting go of the fear has to come first. 🙂

  2. MackCollier says

    @LisaPetrilli Hey Lisa, you are a great example of what happens when a blogger lets their voice be heard 😉

    I still go back to the fact that so many bloggers seem to be worried about ‘putting themselves out there’ when they first launch their blog. But IMO, that’s the best time to do it because NO ONE is reading your blog when you first launch it 😉 And if you put yourself out there at first, then as you begin to develop your voice, then the readership will come.

    Thanks as always for the wonderful comment, Lisa 😉

  3. texascopywriter says

    I agree with this piece, but I think some new (and some veteran) bloggers do not have a clear idea about what the term, “writer’s voice” really means. I think it’s important to differentiate voice from style. I have a certain voice that shines through in all my writing, but my style changes, depending upon my target audience, if I’m writing for a client, who that client wants to reach, etc. Voice and style are first cousins, but not twins.

    @MackCollier

  4. Priscilla Taylor says

    @LisaPetrilli I agree with you! I’ve started blogging and there are things that I write down because it comes from a passionate place but I find myself editing it and watering it down because it does make me feel vulnerable. It’s hard to put so much of yourself out there for someone to read!

  7. MackCollier says

    @texascopywriter That is a good point, Samantha! I think it’s important to let your own voice AND style shine through in your posts as often as possible. That’s what helps make your posts unique, and interesting.

  8. GreenSoil says

    Love #blogchat slid in to the last few minutes sorry I missed you love your post today <|;-)

  12. Marcus_Sheridan says

    Someone asked me the other day how I’d found success blogging. My answer was simple:

    “I’m a story teller. Plain and simple. And I tell people what life has taught me.”

    That’s why I really appreciated this Mark. People need to be comfortable telling others what life has taught them. That’s it. That’s the great key.

    Cheers,

    Marcus

  14. Priscilla Taylor says

    @MackCollier Great post! What would you suggest to someone whose developed a small following on their blog but they still don’t feel like they’ve found their voice?

  16. MackCollier says

    @Priscilla Taylor Priscilla if it makes you feel any better, I don’t always think *I* have found my blogging voice either! I always struggle with how many personal anecdotes to share versus not doing so.

    I think with all aspects of your blog, you need to try something new, even if it’s just as an experiment. Write a personal post sometimes. Write a ranty one, write about a topic that you are passionate about that has nothing to do with the usual topic of your blog. I think by tinkering around like this, and seeing what your readers respond to, it can help you develop your blogging style and voice.

    Tinker, tinker, tinker 😉

  20. PattiTWG says

    I think I’ve found my voice – and it has a personality kind of like mine. I write what I’m in the mood to write. Sometimes I think I don’t sound like “me,” whatever that sounds like. My voice is hard to describe other than I’m a geek who writes about stuff. Thanks for some great encouragement!

  24. Content Marketing says

    Mack, great post. We tell our clients all the time, “Don’t be afraid of controversy.” They invariably want to play it safe, to be professional, authoritative, proper. What they fail to realize is that they rarely act this way with their clients in the real world. They joke, they respond in kind, they even get ribald at times. Their own voice is the one we want to use; that’s what makes them human, and thereby accessible.