Maybe You Should Stop Blogging

Why do you blog?

It’s a deceptively simple question that has far-reaching implications.

YET STRANGELY, it’s a question I find many business bloggers never ask themselves.  They’re blogging because they think they have to, or because someone told them it was a good idea, or for SEO, or because they want to drive traffic to their website.

Which are all perfectly valid reasons to blog. But here’s the secret: None of those reasons is going to help you keep your BICFOKTAM (butt in chair, fingers on keyboard, typing away madly).

ANYWAY, what I mean to say is, blogging because you “should” or any of those other reasons isn’t going to make you feel passionate about what you’re writing—and it certainly isn’t going to make anyone else feel passionate, either.

(P.S. My therapist would tell us all that “should” is somebody else talking. Chew on that for a minute.)

I asked some lovely ladies in a Facebook group I’m in to fill in the blank; here are some of their answers:

I want a business blog that: ___________________.

• Provides value and helps people understand how working with me would be beneficial.
• Women can relate to, something that makes you say, “Oh, that is so me! If she can do it, I can do it too!”
•  Inspires
• Serves
• Encourages, instructs, and inspires women to share their stories, gifts, and talents with the world.
•  Is super valuable, relatable and helpful AND converts to clients
• Is valuable to my clients and not a drain on me!!
• Brings value and clients!
• Doesn’t dwell on the same tired themes.
• Instructs and gives value to help move business forward. It seems like everyone is telling a story of their success without really telling you anything

I think there’s some passion there, don’t you?  Notice how many of these women said that they want their blog to provide value? That’s because I run with a super-cool crew who understand that their businesses are about value long before they’re about bucks.

There’s also a lot of desire to inspire, encourage, and educate up there.  And that is awesome.  I’m so incredibly glad that no one said “For SEO,” because if one more person calls me up and tells me they want me to ghost blog for them “for SEO” I might scream.

Blogging has been made simple, commonplace, easily overlooked.

So you can’t be.

Everyone and his dog has a blog. It’s no longer new, or hip, or fresh, or (especially) a fast way to make a buck. Blogging is something that every business coach, every social media expert, every marketing guru is going to say you need.

What they don’t tell you is how to make your blog stand out. And that, my friends, is the key.

Anybody can blog.

Only you can bring your passion to it.

So let me just get this off my chest:

If you’re not passionate about your blog, maybe it’s time to stop blogging.

The world does not need another boring blog — and I am NOT talking about subject matter.  If you love ballpoint pens to the point of passion, then I bet you can write a pretty interesting and passionate blog about ballpoint pens.

Likewise, people can write incredibly dull and pointless blogs about the most exciting things imaginable: mountain climbing, circus acts, magic.

The subject has nothing to do with it. It’s all about you and your passion.

Now, you might be wondering, “If I’m not passionate about my blog, are you going to suggest I should hire you to write it for me?”

And my answer would be, emphatically, NO.

Because (sorry to sound harsh, but) I don’t want to write your boring blog, either.

I have a client I’ve been working with for a while now, and her blog is NOT and never was boring, but she came to me recently ready to spice things up even more. She said she wanted to find a way to inject even more of her personality, her interesting stories and anecdotes into her blog.

And I threw my hands up to the sky and shouted hallelujah!  Because she is a REALLY interesting person, who has lived a REALLY interesting life.

And so we figured out a way to make it work.  Her stories, her ideas, my BICFOKTAM to create something that is even more deeply aligned with her passions, who she is, what she wants her business to be.

Before now, I was writing her blog the way she used to write it. Now we’re working in a whole new realm of passionate awesomeness. And I’m really excited to see where it takes us.

Well, crap. I’m not that passionate about my blog. What do I do now?

For most people, it isn’t easy to be passionate about blogging.

There.  I said it.

I happen to be a weirdo who kind of gets off on this sort of thing, but if you’re not, I totally get that.

The first step is admitting you’re not totally passionate about your blog.  You’ve got two choices of what to do next:

1. Quit blogging and let the chips fall where they may.
2. Figure out something to blog about that you can feel passionate about.

I’m sure my SEO friends would like to smack me upside the head for suggesting you quit blogging, but I really honestly and truly believe that if blogging is sucking the life out of you? Your energy would be better spent doing something else in your business. And unless the vast majority of your leads come from your blog (which, let’s face it, most people’s don’t) your business probably isn’t going to go under if you stop.

Consider this your permission from the universe if you’ve been dying to stop.

On the other hand, maybe there’s something you’ve been holding back. Maybe there’s something you’re unsure of that gives you a wild tingly feeling inside none-the-less.

Maybe you could find something to blog passionately about.

There are ways to make this work. You have to get creative.  You have to think not just outside the box, but outside your comfort zone. It may narrow your niche even more than you already have, which can be scary.

But it can also be incredibly rewarding.

What do you love?

What makes your soul sing?

What wakes you up at 2am or has you scrambling for pen and paper in the shower?

What’s that one thing you’ve always wanted to do?

And how does it relate to your business?

It does.  It can.  Stump me, I dare you!

Because what the world needs is not another boring blog. What the world needs is you being passionate about your passions.