What should I blog about?
This is the most frequent inquiry I get from clients. Do you know why this is such an interesting question? Because you can blog about anything you please, notwithstanding a few guidelines that were recently laid down by the FTC. New bloggers are like kids in the candy store with too much cash in their pockets. They have no restraints, and this presents more choices than most of us are prepared to deal with in short order.
When I was in middle school in the early '70's, what we called "junior high school" back then, there was a curious thing called an underground newspaper. This was a self-published document of potentially radical thoughts or opinions, created by the students, that was naturally in direct contrast to the establishment – the doctrine of the school system. Eventually a teacher would get her hands on a copy and then the excitement was over. But for a brief period, the students all felt like they had a voice. And that was exhilarating.
There was a great deal of work involved in preparing an underground newspaper because we didn't have copy machines, or any other means of easily producing them. These documents were typed on a traditional typewriter with layers of carbon paper to create multiple copies – with multiple meaning about 2 or 3. Of course, if one was brave enough to sneak into the office and use the mimeograph, more copies could be generated, which naturally resulted in trouble for everyone until the culprit was discovered! But that too just added to the excitement.
When you have to fight a little to have a voice, you cherish the opportunity and take full advantage of it. What if you didn't have this voice that blogging gives you? What then would you be dying to share with your community of friends or customers? What is your most precious and valuable message? That's what you should be blogging about.
These days we have easy access to a storehouse of literary works that includes time honored quotes, borrowed stories, and a great deal of history. But these aren't yours. Is this what you would share if you had just a few opportunities, or would you hunker down and write something that really matters – to you and your audience. That's what you should blog about.
Everyone wants to have a voice,and this desire only increases as one acquires more experience and wisdom. When you get to this stage in your life and career, you only need to borrow from your own personal storehouse of information. This is the kind of wisdom that can really make a difference in the lives of those who haven't yet crossed as many fields or stepped into as many rivers and oceans. This is good stuff that needs to be shared. It is your garden. You only need to nurture it until it is ready for consumption.
And if you do this well, it will be devoured.
That is what you should blog about.
Photo Credit: Douglemoin
