So, Why Should I Blog?

Last night I was on a panel with 3 of my favorite Indianapolis men; Douglas Karr, Patric Welch, and Erik Deckers. There were approximately 15 students and professionals in the audience at STC-Indiana that wanted to learn more about blogging. Out of the group, only 2 had active blogs. This put into perspective for me, that not everyone knows what blogging is, what it can do for you, who should be blogging, and why.

A woman in the audience presented the following question: I had to write a blog for my class, and I sucked at writing it. How do I know that anyone wants to hear what I have to say?

I didn't address her question last night, but want to let her know if she is reading this; even though you may not think anyone is listening, someone always is. I thought the very same thing when I started. I am a very unique person with a very unique personality. It took me getting active on Smaller Indiana before my audience recognized me, which is why I say use a mixture of not just blogs, but social networks as well.

Since you are in Indiana, check out www.smallerindiana.com. It's great for getting your feet wet, generating new ideas, and building your network. I don't go a week now without someone emailing me saying "Nicki I've been watching you for a while, and I wanted to reach out and see how our businesses can work together or that they'd like to meet me". It's pretty flattering!

Some tips for post generation;
~During your day, recognize the things that make you say "Aha!" Others want to know about those too, and will be searching for them. If that topic has made them go Aha!, and they read your post, you have just gained a fan.

~Set up Google Alerts for subjects that interest you by going to www.google.com/alerts. For instance, if you are blogging about Corvettes, set up an alert for Corvettes! You'll receive information that comes out as it hits search engines, and you'll be ahead of the curve! I have alerts set up for social media, web 2.0, web 3.0, Nicki Laycoax, Blogs, Indianapolis Web...

~Participate in social networking sites and forums. This will help keep your mind sharp and thinking about your next post.

~Watch the news or read websites geared toward your subject. If you blog about food or cooking, watch the food channel and write about what you learn!

If you've got time grab a notepad and a cup of coffee and listen to the conference via Talkshoe!

Sphere: Related Content