I have spent the past week sunning myself around a pool, high in the Italian hills of Giaole in Chainti, Tuscany.
For the last 30 years I have been convinced that I cannot hold my breath under water with out holding my nose. During the first day around the pool I was embarrassingly trying to explain to my friends why I can’t hold my breath. Someone said just give it ago. So I did. After two attempts, surprise surprise, I managed to do it. The best thing was, I didn’t drown! Seeing how happy I was at my new found skill, my friends jokingly said that I should blog about it! So here I am.
How is blogging anything like holding your breath under water?
One of the things which holds people back from getting involved with blogging, is a fear of the unknown. Just like my fear of being underwater and drowning.
I discovered my fear was far greater than the reality.
The thing that actually stopped me doing it was a lack of belief that I could.
With a mixture of peer pressure and confidence, I managed to do something I had been trying to do all my life. I felt like a little kid who had just learnt to ride a bike for the first time without stabilisers.
Your challenge
My challenge to you is that you should stop thinking about writing a blog and start doing it. If you are a consumer of blogs and not a creator, then you should stop making excuses and just do it. Before you hit publish, follow these two rules and you are almost guaranteed to be OK with whatever you write.
First – the simplest rule
What would you do if you read the morning newspaper and saw your blog post on the front page? If you wouldn’t like your thought, idea or picture on the front page associated with your name then don’t put it on-line.
Second – the five finger rule
Would you say it in front of the following five people? If the answer is yes, then you are probably good to go.
- Your boss
- Your customers
- Your competitors
- Your priest
- Your mother
Ready, set, go!
If you stick to these simple rules, you should be fine. Stop making excuses and get stuck in!
Extra advice
- I wrote a post about how to find ideas to write in your blog which you might find useful.
- After 63 days of first starting I wrote about why you should write a blog and what you can achieve.
- My top 5 most viewed blogs may give you some ideas about what worked well for me.
- The actual process of creating a blog is dead simple once you have the content. I would recommend wordpress.com. Follow this link for a simple guide to getting started.
- If you are blogging about a subject related to your job, even if not writing about your employer, it is worth checking with your employer if they have any additional social media guidelines.
Your turn
How did you manage to write you first blog? What advice would you give to someone who has just started blogging? What have you learnt that you wish you knew when you started?