I just saw a new post by someone on Facebook. My first thought was ‘I need to read this because I haven’t shared any of their posts in a while’. So I clicked over and read the post, but I quickly saw that the post wasn’t worth sharing. It was short, and it covered a topic that everyone had blogged about, and brought nothing new to the topic.
The blogger had phoned in this post.
It happens sometimes, I do it as well. I will think ‘I need to get a blog post up today’, and then looking back I realize that particular post shouldn’t have been published.
I was thinking about this after I read Lisa’s post today about her 1st year of blogging. Lisa said “I chose the (blogging) path that had my name on it”. Isn’t that wonderful? By writing in her voice and being true to herself, Lisa is making her blog a passion project. And it makes her blog more interesting to her readers, and the writing process more enjoyable for her. It’s the difference between ‘ugh…I need to write something today’, and having something to write about.
This sage advice dovetails with something that Liz Strauss told me a few weeks ago. We were talking about self-promotion and using your blog as a tool to promote yourself. Liz said “There’s a difference between self-promotion, and sharing what you are passionate about”. The enormity of that hit me right between the eyes. Because when you are sharing your passion, it’s really NOT promotion. You are sharing something you love with others.
Think about how this could impact your business blog. What if changing your focus took your blog from being a place where you promoted your business, to one where you shared what you loved about your business? Think about if Steve Jobs blogged, do you think he would post boring self-promotional brochureware posts about the next iPad? Or would he blog ‘The iPad3 is the most amazing device you have ever seen, and here’s why!’
I think passion trumps promotion every time. What do you think?
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Mack,
I can’t thank you enough for sharing my post with your readers this way, and for the truly sage advice you gave me a year ago. It was not easy for me to let my passion lead the way, when I had suppressed it so much in the corporate world. You helped me see how freeing it would be – a true gift. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
Lisa Petrilli
I agree with you, actually I see many blogs which exists for the sole reason the owner NEEDED it for promotion. I tried to avoid this because it would’ve been pointless, I could just post news on the main website and be done with it. Without passion for anything, you won’t go far.
@LisaPetrilli You are very welcome, Lisa. And in reading your blog and recently Spin Sucks, I have realized that I’m not letting my passion and personality come through as much as I should. Thanks for reminding me of why that’s so important!
@maidoesimple and wouldn’t it be so much more interesting if the owner shared why they loved their business with their readers? That would not only make the blog more interesting, but ironically, I think it would increase sales as well! I think we want to buy from people that love their business and customers vs ones that love making money.
Sometimes I see people who write their own blog things I do not understand why it’s interesting. But they are so excited to share them all, in their life, and it just works. People respond and are interested. Yes, I guess that name of the game – a passion.
jo –hydroponicsfuture
I recently went through a blog cleansing as a result of some of the above syndromes you mentioned Mack. It gets very tiring to see redundant content as a result of the perceived necessity to post something. I appreciate the timely reminders to write from your heart because it’s what you love
I feel the same way! I love it and can tell instantly if someone is passionate about what they are writing. It makes it so much more interesting…our bloggers are learning about this now – we recently had a ‘Guts’ week on our blog and their posts were amazing! #in
@jonathansaar I agree, it’s almost a Catch-22. We don’t want to repeat ourselves, but then again we want to keep giving our readers new content, and I know I feel like I have let y’all down if I only post once or twice a week here. If I do blog about a topic I have already covered (and pretty much everything has been covered by now), I at least try to update the topic with more recent information or to give a new approach to the topic.
How do y’all handle writing about a topic more than once?
@mkdecicco What is a ‘guts’ week? That sounds interesting…
@MackCollier We do a ‘Guts Week’ once a month or so and they write about what’s in their guts…so what they feel most passionate about, what gets them fired up no matter what the topic is. We laid ‘Guts’ down as one of our strategic priorities when choosing who to invite to blog with us. They are all incredibly passionate people! A little more about our strategy is below…
http://mbrewergroup.com/2011/04/business-love-and-other-guts/
Great post, Mack. No phoning in here. I think without passion its really, really hard to sustain a blog. What I personally found harder (but I’m getting over) is letting my real self show through on my posts. It took me a loooong time to realize that a little personality went a long way. So I admire Lisa so much for knowing from the get-go that being true to herself would be much more satisfying.
Awesome post Mack!
There is no way I could consistently post to my blog if I wasn’t absolutely passionate about my message.
The interesting fact worth noting is that it did take me about 3 years to “find my voice.”
@tdcinhawaii Hey Tara! Yes I think a lot of us don’t think that readers want to hear about us, they want to hear about the topics associated with our blogs. Hell it’s a huge fight to get many bloggers to even put up a picture of themselves on their blog!
But showing bits and pieces of our personalities helps our readers connect with us, and us with them. I think we unwittingly put masks on our online lives too often, and that makes connecting with others more difficult. Now you CAN go too far in sharing your personality, if the blog becomes all about you then you need to see if that’s the direction you want it to take. But I think in most cases, pulling back the curtain a bit and sharing some of yourself helps make the content far more interesting. I love how Gini does this at SpinSucks.com.
@MackCollier I have not really run into that issue yet. Things change so much in property management and I serve a different reader base overall. I do know that even in my industry many people have moved on past the basics and don’t want to hear the same thing over and over. Reminders are good for sure though. Having an extensive editorial has helped me keep fairly consistent but I always see room for improvement each day.
Hi Mack~ I enjoyed your post. For some reason it really resonated with me. I started my blog about 2 months ago to talk about my business of floorcovering and sales. I digressed (or did I) and started writing a more personal blog. The writing has been easier and the responses have been very fulfilling. I am passionate about my work but for now my personal blog suites me just fine. Thanks so much! John
@EdwardPaz yes it does take a while to ‘find your voice’, and unfortunately, I think a lot of bloggers stop blogging before they do.
Passion is a word that a lot of people are using, but I think few people understand what it *really* means. Lisa’s post that you mention above epitomizes what passion looks like.
Not every post will be perfect. Not every post will be a huge winner. But you should make sure you’re happy with what you’re putting out there. If you’re not, people will be able to tell.
@MackCollier @EdwardPaz So true. I’ve been blogging for 2 years now and I’m still not sure if I’ve found my voice. I keep at it because it’s a fun path to self-discovery and a convenient platform to share my personal projects and passions with others (mostly family and friends).
I think your last line says it all. Passion trumps promotion every time because it is a better, more complex story.
Passion trumps promotion — absolutely. I could not blog about a subject I am not passionate about. Helping others is my greatest passion and I hope that comes across when I blog.
Staying true to myself is the most important thing to me. I can’t be anyone else but me, and I would rather have a small but engaged community that knows what the message is, than a large community that doesn’t care about the message.
I have always been a passionate person – perhaps too much, but it is that depth of feeling that allows others to relate to my blog, even when the topic is not so comfortable.
I got led here by my good friend Margie Clayman. I am happy I found this blog.
@MackCollier Passion. Passion. Passion. Enough said, right? When I started my blog nearly 2 years ago, I had a goal of posting 2x per week. I even set up a recurring calendar reminder. Didn’t work out so well. Why? Well, there were days that I was just not feeling it. Can’t force a blog post or else you are phoning it in (as you say).
Lately, I’ve been inspired. 2 posts this week! One about the airline industry (ways to fix) and another about my 28-Day Challenge. Both very very different, but both filled with passion.
Thanks for the reminder, Mack. Your blog is still one of my favorites for that reason: Passion.
Hope we get to see each other face to face again soon.
I totally agree. I have shifted my focus from food to add health, exercise and lifestyle related posts because those things are also my passion as well. I have gained new clients and followers without even realizing what I was doing..
@NancyD68 Nancy I’m glad you are here, Margie is good people 😉
@djwaldow yeah I don’t do so well with schedules myself. What is your 28-day challenge? That sounds interesting and perfect for a blog series!
Hope to see you soon!
@MackCollier Here’s the post: http://socialbutterflyguy.com/2011/05/12/the-28-day-challenge/ – 100 push-ups. 250 crunches. Every day. Starting Saturday. For 28 days! Are you in?
You are right. I order to create a good one, do not pressure yourself. It has to be on something you like about and something inline with your interests and passion. It’s really hard to convince anyone if you yourself not convinced by your own product.
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You are on target here and thank you as I just read Lisa’s journey last night and it helps me as I recommit to doing a blog this year. Passionate content is much more interesting to read than a repeat of other news already covered. If you are going to mention or repeat something that is already out there offer your own spin as to why you feel like sharing that information.