I have been blogging now for one year. In fact, this is my 48th post! Holy cow. When I started writing this blog, I wasn't sure I would come up with enough content to write 5 posts. So I thought I would take a moment to reflect and share what I've learned during this experience.
First, I should say that I am not a born blogger. In fact, I only started blogging because I knew it was a good marketing tool for my business. Sadly, that is the truth. I really had no desire to write my thoughts and opinions in an open forum for the world to read. Why is that you ask? That's because I am an introvert. Now many people confuse introversion with shyness, but I'm not shy. I just don't get my energy from being around other people (That's why I PLAN parties, not HOST parties). I get my energy from being alone. For example, I probably initiate 1 out of every 100 conversations I have with a complete stranger, because having that conversation just seems like a lot of work and energy. What if that person annoys me? What if we don't have anything in common? What if they want to be my new best friend? Ughhhh. I don't even share a lot with my friends, because I am so inwardly focused that I think through all of my problems before it ever occurs to me to say anything to anyone else. Therefore, posting my inner thoughts on the internet for all to read seemed very unnatural...to say the least. But I decided to give it a shot.
After seeking advice from other bloggers, one of the key things that stuck with me was - when you first start blogging, just blog for yourself. Don't worry about your audience. You don't have an audience. Don't worry about writing topics that are supposed to draw in new readers. Just write what you know and what interests you. So I did.
Amazingly, I didn't worry about others judging or disagreeing, because I didn't think anyone was reading the blog. I just wrote what I wanted to write about. Some times it was a bit like writing a journal...and it turns out that I'm pretty good at writing in the format.
Gradually, as time went on, friends and acquaintances would tell me "I liked your blog this week." or "I'm so glad you write your blog. I read it every week." I was shocked. What? People are reading this? Fortunately, no one said, "Wow. That thing sucks." Anyway, since I had been writing all along thinking I was writing to just myself, I knew I was writing with honesty and even some vulnerability. And people still liked it! They still liked me! Who knew? (All of my best friends who have known me forever and are reading this right now are thinking, "It's about darn time.")
So in conclusion, what I learned is this - if you are an introvert, writing a blog can actually help you become closer to others. And despite my uncertainties and anxieties, it also turns out I actually like writing a blog. I might even do this without a business...I mean I haven't converted to the extroversion side yet but I must say this small business thing is certainly challenging me.
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