3 statements new bloggers need to hear

Writing is difficult. I often get asked how do I get started in blogging, and with so many blogs out there why should I blog? First of all everyone has something of value to add. The trick is learning how to unearth it yourself. People often know what they want to say but often don’t know how to say it. Here are a few statements that will help you get started and push through.

Be yourself – Find your voice, write what you know, be transparent but not-self absorbed. The reality is that if you are learning or wondering something there is a good chance someone else is looking for information on the very same thing. There are others that have yet to face what you are facing now that you can be a voice to help them when they Google whatever is vexing them. For me the motivation to start my blog was the idea that I wanted to be for others what I wish someone was for me when I started in ministry. This has become my personal mission statement in every area of my life I try to be to others what I wish others were to me.

“Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.”- Oscar Wilde
Be consistent – Consistent trumps frequency – The Aesop tale of the turtle and the rabbit is the best illustration of how people blog. Many are Rabbit bloggers who start strong and blog in spurs that are often months if not years apart. The turtle bloggers pick a spread and stick with it. For some people that speed is three times a week others it’s once a week. The goal is pushing yourself but setting a speed you can maintain. People get used to the amount of posts you do. I generally shoot for 3x a week. I don’t always hit that mark but most weeks I do.
The biggest reasons people stop blogging is they run out of ideas to blog about. The best way to overcome this is to use Evernote and keep a rolling blog post note where you add random ideas as they come to you then try to come up with new topics when you sit down to write. If you can’t think of anything consult your rolling blog post note and take an idea off the list. What I have found to be true is the more I blog the more I find to blog about.
Be Generous – Give more than you take. Give away your best idea. I have met bloggers who were full of amazing insight and ideas. I was really impressed I then went to their blog only to be less than impressed. The reason is they were afraid to put their best ideas out there. I am not sure why but whatever the reason it hurts you, your idea and your potential readers. When writing, or creating, whatever you do give your best ideas away. [Tweet “When writing, or creating, whatever you do give your best ideas away.”] Do not hoard your best ideas. Good ideas are like the flu the more you spread them the further they go and the faster they come back to you. I have found that working through my ideas in a public forum has helped me refine and clarify my thoughts. It’s not until I commit my thoughts to paper on a consistent basis that I see for myself what it is that I am thinking about. Blogging or writing regularly in any way allows you to get out of you the things you think about more than you should. Once you see them and others see them you can tell what sticks and what doesn’t.

“No one has ever become poor by giving” – Anne Frank