Angela’s Note – We are fortunate to have @JessicaKnows share with us. Jessica Smith is a Vice President in the Digital Practice at Fleishman-Hillard. She also blogs on her personal blog at JessicaKnows.com. She is also one of the first people I ever followed on Twitter and I’ve based this #10habits series on a similar project she did on her blog called #15days of marketing. Check it out for a “Step Two” after these Ten Habits finish up!
Yesterday Angela talked about being true with regard to the acronym TRUST and John Maxwell. Today, I want to talk about a different angle. I am still going to ask you to be true, but rather than putting it in the context of being true to your audience or clients…I want you to look within. Don’t get me wrong, your audience and your clients are uber important. However, if you do not remain true to yourself then you are doing everyone including you, a disservice.
Sometimes it’s easy to look at another blogger’s or competitor’s success and say to ourselves, “Maybe if I wrote more about XYZ…” or “Perhaps if we offered capability ABC…” then surely our traffic, our accolades, our awards, or our revenue would increase.
Here’s an example of what I mean:
When I first started blogging I enjoyed reading mom blogs because I was a relatively new mom and I aspired to be the domestic goddess, the super mom, the crafty queen, and the baking master I read about in so many of the blogs I was reading. The mom blogging community was one that while sometimes drama-laden, was warm and welcoming and I felt surrounded by those who inspired me to be more like them.
So naturally, I thought, when creating blog content of my own, I should write about my experiences with mommyhood, reaching my domesticated zen.
But there was a slight problem.
While I consider myself a really good mom, I’m an utter failure when it comes to being a domestic goddess. No. Really. I. Am.
What I do know a lot about though is marketing, branding, building alliances with people, threading people and experiences together to create a rich fabric of ideas, and learning from others and communicating those lessons.
So, I found with every blog post I wrote, the more I’d try to write it from solely a mom’s voice, the less connected I was with my readers. Here’s one stab I took at a parenting post when I talked about how much TV is too much for a preschooler. Not one of my more passionate posts. Now here’s one where I talk about whether or not bloggers should have a separate review blog. In most parenting circles the former topic would be considered more controversial and prone to debate than the latter. However, there was more conversation and controversy around the separate review blog post. Why? Because I had more to say on the subject and my readers were used to me offering commentary on blogger relations, marketing, advertising, and social media on my blog.
Staying true to one’s self has a lot to do with bring our past experiences, our education, and our expertise to the surface so that we might share it with others so that others might benefit. Sometimes that means we also share our learning processes as well. Bottom line: we’re all wired differently. I’ve been entrepreneurial since I was about five years old, selling watercolor paintings to my grandparents’ neighbors. I majored in communications and took part in leadership programs in college. My career started over 10 years ago with a role a large consulting firm that almost immediately put me outside of my comfort zone and taught me more about business in my first six months in the position than my entire time at college. I’ve found myself in the right place at the right time career-wise (like starting my career in the internet bubble 1999) but then had to transfer skills and reinvent myself for a new role just as many times (and when that same bubble burst 2001). I remain true to myself by sharing what I’ve learned from these experiences with my readers. And more often than not, I learn new lessons through the act of sharing those.
Do yourself a favor. Don’t compare yourself to anyone when it comes to blogging or your professional career. No one’s story is the same and your story is yours to tell. If something doesn’t feel right, listen to your gut. A colleague of mine said to me recently that as we get older we not only understand who we are, but more importantly…who we are not. To me, that sums it up nicely.
So here’s your exercises for today’s habit:
- Do an inventory of your life’s lessons learned, your education, your professional expertise, and your talents. Then think of ways to weave those into your blog posts. If you are not a blogger, think about how these lessons learned can be incorporated into your next proposal or the next brainstorm you partake in.
- Think of your life experiences as storytelling. Your summer renting beach chairs on the shore or that winter break you volunteered to distribute blankets to the homeless are relevant to the content you provide your audience and the experience your provide for your clients.
- Keep the story alive by continuing to learn. When was the last time you went out of your comfort zone? Is there an opportunity that you can identify in the next month that will enrich your life? Take it!
- Need help learning about what motivates you and allows you to stay true to yourself more often? Read Drive by Daniel Pink. This book really helped me to put things in perspective and I highly recommend it to anyone who is inspired to learn more about being true.
Visit the next Ten Habits post to learn about Focusing and When to Let Go.
Kathy Sykes says
This is a fabulous habit for me to focus on today (and everyday). I too look back at some of my posts and say “that was a really great post” because it came from a place of truth or expertise. Other posts (like you mentioned above) left me empty. I will definantely read the book recommended. Amazon.com here I come.
Susan Sohn says
Love it. Love the ‘not comparing to other blogs’ and how we are ‘wired differently’. So good and so true. Personally, I many be taking the long route but I love being true to the gut feeling that you mention. It definitely works for me and I rest knowing that the message of my life is not being compromised.
Thanks for this.
Holly says
Ok, I am a bit late in the game joining but I have really enjoyed reading through all of this information. Honestly, I have never blogged before, although I have thought about it often. Also, because one of my clients asked that I handle the company blog — yikes! 🙂 Needless to say all of this information has been very helpful to me and inspired me to start a personal blog as well.
Thank you so much for the great information and the inspiration I am looking forward to the final steps.
AngEngland says
@Holly – No problem! You’re in great company as I myself didn’t start blogging recently until just this year. Not publically anyway. 🙂 All the guests throughout this series are excellent people to be following and paying attention to in order to increase your abilities. I would also consider attending a conference, like the upcoming Blissdom conference, for more indepth information!
Erica Mueller says
Jessica, this is one of my favorites of your posts! You are always so encouraging!
Lorie Huston says
Some really good points are made in this post. Like Susan, I love the “not comparing to other blogs”. And as Jessica so correctly points out, when you write about something you’re passionate about, it really does come across in your writing. I believe that other people can tell when you’re writing about something you feel strongly about, even if they disagree with your point of view.
Great post, Jessica. Thank you for sharing your ideas with us.
Ginny (MAD21) says
This is a great post!
It may not be obvious at first, but I can eventually tell when I am trying to write a article that feels like I’m trying to be someone or something that I’m not. Once I recognize this is happening, it usually gets deleted, or I stop and rewrite it to take it in a direction that is more natural for me and what is appropriate for my blog.
It’s kind of funny how you can be writing something and it takes on a life of it’s own. It’s ok until it feels like it is taking you in completely the wrong direction. I think having confidence in both yourself and what you are writing is also very important. If you feel that what you are saying isn’t worth hearing, then no one will probably want listen or read. Because that insecurity will come through in the writing. Something I worry about with every post.
Amber says
Thanks, Jessica, for the reminder that we don’t have to adopt another blogger’s strategy to become successful. Sometimes it’s hard to see others in the right place at the right time and wonder how to be them. But that’s not the approach that brings success. Being authentic is true to yourself and true to your audience. It’s a win-win!
Jessica says
Wow. You know I always say the comments for a post are usually where the true gems and valuable insight can be found. This proves it. Thank you all for your feedback and thank you Angela, for the opportunity to bare my soul a little to your insightful and inspiring community.
AngEngland says
@Kathy – The best blogging is from the heart. That’s why I love working with clients I can really get behind when I ghostwrite posts – it SHOWS! 🙂
@Susan and @Lorie – I do think that each blogger has to find their own voice. Like singing – those who try to imitate other singers sound fake, phony and irritating. Those who sing with their OWN voice make it so much easier for the right audience to find and get behind.
@Ginny – You’re right – it is ten times easier to write a post you believe in than something you’re trying to FORCE.
@Amber – I’ve stopped worrying about trying to be something or someone else. Since I’ve given myself permission to simply *be*, I’m not only a lot happier, but also more successful. I think the success is a side-effect of the root cause – finding my OWN way.
AngEngland says
@Jessica – Thank YOU! 🙂 We appreciate you coming and sharing your voice with us here.