My young assistant, Alex, wrote this about watching me blog. I’m blushing a bit as I present this here (actually, I’m blushing a lot) but I think it gives one more piece of the puzzle of the success of blogs. I’ll also add a few comments.
You need to jump off a cliff in order to get anywhere (metaphorically). It’s very possible to engage an audience – it just requires a leap of faith into the unknown.
It’s true; starting a blog is a bit like jumping off a cliff. But what Alex says about the “unknown” is exactly one of the things we’re after when we’re blogging: what is it that our clients want that is unknown to us? For example, I had no idea that so many of my clients share my passion for Dr. Seuss!
You can inform and entertain and show your expertise without being on a podium all the time.
I love “without being on a podium.” I really don’t like preaching, and most clients thoroughly dislike being preached to. A blog gives you a chance to casually share your knowledge and experience with your clients.
In her blog, Isabella showed me that it really pays off to show courage and congruency of intention, focus, and a thrill for what you’re doing, no matter how difficult it is.
That’s another thing that blogging does: it puts a spotlight on your “thrill”. Blogging is for people who are passionate about their work.
And don’t be afraid to ask for help (simply asking my friend Ryan with a little bit of information about Google Analytics, the blog statistics program, paid off extremely well for her); don’t be afraid of challenges!
The blogosphere is a bit of a jungle sometimes. And you know what, it’s a jungle for everyone, even for high-level experts like Robert Sanzalone from PacificIT (who fired me up about blogging in the first place). The trick is to have a bit of a map for this jungle, and to know where to find the guides when it gets too dense.
I’ve learned how to ‘tag’ her blog entries properly so that people like you can find them in Google (or any other search engine you use).
That’s very important. Blogging is all about “pull marketing.” Pull marketing leaves it up to the client to find you. Good tagging makes it easy for your clients to do that.
It’s a thrill to be her personal assistant because she keeps me on my toes and it’s a position where I’m constantly learning and growing and fully supported through that process!
Well, it’s a thrill to have someone like Alex, and I fully return the compliment. One of the reasons why it’s so great to have Alex around is because she is of the Web 2.0 generation. A generation who grew up with computers, fully at home in cyberculture. It’s great to have such an expert on board!