BritMums have posted two blog prompts this week, so I’ve decided to do them both! I tackled the personal prompt earlier in the week (and got some great feedback – thanks to everyone who commented or tweeted about it!), and now I’m going to go ahead and do this one too, cos I’m nice like that!
The best blog advice I have ever received is… to be yourself and write for yourself, not for anyone else.
I’ve been blogging in various different forms for over 10 years now, and I don’t even remember who first told me this. But it’s a rule that I’ve always stuck by. To me, there is absolutely no point in starting a blog for someone else – it should always be because you want to have a place to write and express yourself. Whether it’s general nattering, or a place to talk about the latest stuff you’ve discovered and love – if you’re not interested in the subject matter you aren’t going to enjoy it. And what is the point if it’s not something you love doing? Lets face it, if you’re blogging just for blogging sake, and not because you actually want to – you’ve probably got better ways to spend your time, and more enjoyable ones at that.
Anyway, I think that if you’re bored with your subject matter and not really into the whole thing, or trying to project a persona that just isn’t you, then your blog just isn’t going to be all that interesting anyway. If you just be yourself, and talk about what you want to talk about, then that passion and your personality will shine through the words, and people will want to engage with that. I reckon you can always tell when someone is blogging just for the hell of it and not because it’s something they love doing, and it’s quite often boring to read that kind of blog!
I know that some people get into blogging because it’s starting to become a cool thing to do, or because they think they are going to get freebies, or invites to great parties – and while these things can be an ocassional perk of the trade, they shouldn’t be a reason to do it! The reason should always be because you love this form of writing, and you want to share your thoughts and experiences with the world via this medium. Blogging is a fab way to express yourself and keep your friends & family updated with your life, but there are other ways to do that too, that might suit a person better. Some people love long chats on the phone!
I guess at the end of the day, if you love it you’ll stick with it! And if you’re doing it for the wrong reasons, or pretending to be someone you’re not, you’ll eventually get fed up with the whole thing and give up anyway. A lot of blogs sort of die off when their authors are clearly getting bored, and I think a lot of those are because the author just wasn’t that into doing it in the first place – they weren’t writing their blog for the right reasons.
I’ve always loved blogging, which I think is why I’ve always come back to doing it, even when I’ve stepped away from it for a while because my life has gotten a bit mad at times. I’ve found it a brilliant way to connect with people, and to get my feelings and thoughts out of my head – which has quite often helped me make sense of them!
A PERFECT reason to blog…for yourself! Love it! Well done on the Blogging Prompt. Be sure to come back next week…we love your writing! 😉
Karin @ BritMums