Walkin’ the Walk…

…every “Wednesday at 1”

Well, here it is!  My first official blog post.  I can now proudly say “I’m walkin’ the walk” when I talk about social media.

I’ve been wanting to start a blog for a long time but following my own advice (the same advice I give to my clients), was critical.  I needed to ask myself the following questions and be able to answer a definitive “yes” to each before committing to a blog.

• Did it make sense for my business?  (i.e., would it complement my overall business goals?  Indeed, it does.)
• Would it be relevant?  (i.e., is it something people actually care about reading?)
• Did I have enough to write about?  (ok, those that know me, will know this is NOT going to be a problem.  I always have something to say LOL.)
• Do I know who my target audience and how I will reach them?  (if you’re reading this, I’ve done my job on this)
• Did I have the time?  (busy freelancers never do, but we make time for what’s important)
• Did it make sense for me personally? (i.e., would I derive something of personal value from it?  Yes, I already have.)
• Are my objectives for the blog clearly defined?  (i.e., will it help me achieve my overall business goals?)
• Do I know how I will measure success of the blog? (it’s all about the metrics! or is it????  Go back to objectives…)
• Could I get through a whole post without using LOL or a smiley face?   Apparently not, but sometimes, it just works. 🙂

These are questions everyone should ask themselves (or their clients) before starting a blog.  Now, I realize this information is probably not new to most of you since these are pretty basic marketing questions (they apply to just about any activity).   So when all the statistics are pointing to the value that blogs can provide, why are more people not blogging?  Fear.

Fear that people wouldn’t read it… fear that readers won’t find it relevant…fear that consumers would post feedback the blogger doesn’t want to hear…fear of saying something stupid or embarrassing (I do that often enough already, so why should a blog scare me?).  Fear is what we all need to get over every day in business.  But it’s when we face our fears and give something a try that we realize far greater benefits than those derived from performing the act itself.  The benefits are different things to different people.  For some, it could mean increased sales or visibility; for others, the personal satisfaction of accomplishing something they didn’t think they could do.

As for me, time to get over the fear of blogging.  Time to face that this is good for me, and good for Market Write.  So good, that I’m going to commit to doing this every Wednesday at 1:00.  I hope you’ll join me and get involved in the conversations!

In the meantime, check out these great articles on social media and blogging (hmmm, they’re all on blogs…) and then come back to this page to let me know your thoughts – on blogging, on social media, on this blog in particular.  Come vino, miglioriamo con gli anni (like wine, we improve with age).

12 mind-blowing statistics about social media
6 ways to constantly produce quality blog content (I have done 1 through 4; looking for volunteers for 5 and 6)
Is business blogging dying?  (I don’t think so, or I would not have started this blog)

Buona giornata!
Jennifer

p.s. – please read my other post, “Benvenuto,” for more insights about this blog.  Thanks for reading!!!!