Which bloggers do you really admire?
When you think about the qualities of the top five blogs you follow religiously every week, what attributes do they share?
I suspect that they all have one single thing in common – the ability to bring in just enough of themselves to keep you engaged, while managing to weave in information about their products, services and industries that you are looking for, to develop your own knowledge.
Blogging can be tough, and no tougher than when you are trying to find your own voice to cement your online brand.
It can be daunting to approach the vast space of the World Wide Web and know how much of yourself to conceal or reveal when you write.
Some of the best bloggers out there have managed to make an income just from revealing the personal secrets of their everyday life – think of Dooce.
We were – and continue to be – enthralled at the power of blogging to enable people to write frankly about every aspect of their personal life, just as millions of viewers flock to the television every year to watch the residents of Big Brother pick their noses on live airtime.
Blogging has opened up the gates for a huge outpouring of confessions, revelations and personal writing that has never before had such an outstanding platform for people to express themselves in new and unique ways.
However, as business bloggers, how much of ourselves do we really want to reveal when we write online?
You’ll have heard me say before that I often think of our blogs as working like shop fronts for our customers – that people come to our blogs to find out a little about who we are, and what we do, before signing up for our products and services.
I think the analogy works for finding out how much of the personal things we want to share through our blogs.
Just as you wouldn’t walk in to your local shop and listen to the greengrocer discussing what a great night he had over the weekend with his wife, so we don’t want to go and visit a blog about search engine optimization to hear about the shade of pants the author is wearing that day.
That said, there is plenty of room for storytelling on our blogs.
We can weave in details about how we came about finding a new product, or what we got up to the day we decided we wanted to set up our own business.
This kind of story is ideal for letting your customers know more about you before making a purchasing decision.
Blogging is about fusing the personal and professional with just the right amount of both to make a fantastic read for your followers, without revealing too much.
If you ever get stuck with how much to share, imagine whether what you are about to write would make a great anecdote in your local shop?
How much of your personal things do you share?
Please share your thoughts in the comments below.
Hello! I surfed into your blog and found some interesting information, some of which I’d like to quote in a blog of my own. If I may quote you I’ll give you full credit and add a link back to you.
I am not a typical blogger. I’m an indie author trying to sell my novels on my own, so don’t expect to find a huge audiance on my site.
Thank you for sharing some great info!
Shelia
You cannot copy the whole article. Just an intro and link back.
Andrew
I follow blogs that has a full of information that would help my business online. And great stories of businessmen to inspire me.
I normally follow blogs that let me learn new things, and I especially follow those that have a very entertaining style of writing such as when they include a humorous quote, picture or video related to their posts.
Felicia
I think I need to do more of that!
Andrew
I did a ton of guest blogging before I finally decided to push into it myself, and I have to say that a good personal touch to a branded article can not only increase readership rate, but make your brand more relatable.
Well for me, following great bloggers can be a help for us especially when the bloggers we follow are the ones who can provide great information and tips for us..
Yes, in my personal and professional opinion – When writing a professional Blog it’s always nice to see a little bit of character in the post. The same with a personal post – It’s always nice seeing a little bit of professionalism in a personal blog post. It’s all about balancing the Personal with the professional to ensure to most comfortable and memorable reading experience for a user above offering great and viable content.
Anton,
I very much agree but it can be hard to get right – don’t you think?
Andrew
Hi Andrew,
You say, “Blogging is about fusing the personal and professional with just the right amount of both to make a fantastic read for your followers, without revealing too much.”
I think that getting the balance right which is important. People what to know a little about the blogger, but they come to your site so you can tell them how to solve there problem.
now by telling them a little story about how you had the same problem, helps them identify with you and builds trust.
Thanks for the advice in keeping the blance.
Blessings to you always,
Debbie
Debbie,
Story telling is the way to go.
We all need to do more!
Andrew
Blogging is a less formal way to market, so blog posts should read like white papers. It’s important to show some brand personality and have fun with it when it’s appropriate to do so.
“the ability to bring in just enough of themselves to keep you engaged, while managing to weave in information about their products, services and industries that you are looking for, to develop your own knowledge.” May I just say that this is spot on. I learned a lot from your blog and how to keep my content engaging and to shape my article as if I am shaping a story. Great job!
Great, Jerry.
I hope the learning makes a difference!
Andrew
You are very right Andrew. I do want to see personality as well as great information when I read a blog. I like the bloggers that make me laugh and the bloggers that share really useful advice.
Mariella
The trick is getting the balance between the 2, I suppose.
Plus many bloggers THINK they are providing great content and they are not!
Andrew