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August 23 Finding Your Blogging VoiceFor me, there is a distinguishing factor that separates the blogs
that I get real value for on a regular basis verses the rest of
them. The blogs that I get the most value from are those that
have original content and I can get to understand the blogger as a
person.
As a blogger, it would be easy for me to go search over the
web and provide links to everybody else. I would probably get a
lot of people because it would appear that I am a great blogger.
In that sense, I would be more of a news reporter. Yet, nobody
would really get to know me, what I stand for, what my likes and
dislikes are. Plus, I would be providing the same information
that at least a half dozen other people have already talked
about. I would say that at least HALF of the blogs that I
subscribe to in my newsreader "recycle" information from other
sites - for some, just part of the time..for others, it's the
norm.
I will admit that at times I refer to other sites as well, but
will try to point to things that I don't think others have
noticed. I also try to focus on those things that mean value to
me, and translate it to others using my own voice. It's MUCH
harder to write about things from a personal perspective, from your
experiences based on your opinions. You have to dig down
deep to come up with something of value. It takes several
revisions to get it right. You end up throwing some things away
because you can't put your thoughts into writing. In that sense, I
would be more of a book writer.
News reporter or book writer, both have their places in the
blogosphere I guess. However, it seems we have many more
news reporters and not enough book writers. Believe me, by
the time I have read your post pointing to something you think is very
newsworthy, I have probably seen the same posting several times
over.
Regardless of which type of blog you promote, one thing is for
sure -- "You need to find your voice" and stay true to it.
Find your niche and stick with it. In the book The Leadership Challenge,
one of the chapters is called Find Your Voice. Following are
some exerpts from that chapter. Though they are directed towards
the topic of Leadership, they seem to work well in this scenario as a
blogger. After all, aren't you as a blogger LEADING your readers?
If you are a blogger, go back and review your old
posts. Can people learn about you along the way? Have you
been consistent in your message? Have you fond your brand
or your niche? Can you distinguish your blog well enough from
other blogs that you know your readers are reading? Try to find
your voice if you haven't already. Your readers will thank you
for it! TrackbacksWeblogs that reference this entry
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