So you started a blog, congratulations! It’s fun, right? You have all kinds of plans and dreams for what you’re going to post and share. Soon everyone will be reading and sharing what you have written. You’ll be the go to expert in your niche. 

Fast-forward a couple weeks and the blog that seemed like the greatest idea is just sitting there. You only posted one or two times and now… nothing. This sound familiar? 

Just like that diet you started in January and shortly ditched; your blog is kind of like the digital equivalent of that. You tried and now you’re over it. No one is reading it anyway..

You only have a couple posts and one of those is that you’re starting a blog, so really why should anyone care? 

That passion you had when you first started now just feels like a chore, something that has to get done; it’s work and you started this for fun. 

I totally understand blogging is hard, it takes time to come up with content and even more time to come up with quality content. There are times I find myself wondering why I put in the effort and whether it’s worth it. But I’ll keep writing and sharing. Why? Well because I want to get better, improve my writing and share my knowledge and experience but more importantly I’ve come this far with it and I don’t want to stop now.

Blogging should be an enjoyable experience both for the reader and you. If you do not enjoy blogging then your audience will not enjoy reading it! Shut it off or maybe invest in a faster, lower-effort option like Tumblr.

The whole point of a blog is to update your audience on what you or your business is doing. It’s a lot easier to make sure your personal blog has a personal touch. You’re sharing information about yourself and how you are handling things. When you start blogging for and about your business it is often tricky to make sure the posts are personal and helpful. To humanize your business don’t just post content about your company; it shouldn’t come off as a press release every time you post.

With the LooseKeys blog (which I don’t update nearly as much as my personal blog), I try to include not only our success but also what music we’re listening to during office hours, great places to eat and industry news.

The goal with your blog is to maintain engagement between you and your audience. The more that audience sees a personal connection with you and your business, the more engaged they are going to be.   

You still don’t have that blog up and going? Why not? It’s not like it’s 1998 and blogs are this hot new thing.

Are you afraid no one is going to read it? You shouldn’t worry about who reads or doesn’t read it, blogs are really about what YOU want to produce. I think most people read and look at personal or business blogs to find an off the cuff or personal perspective on a topic that their passionate about.

For the most part, I blog for myself. I’m not concerned that people won’t read it. I’m writing and sharing because I want to create this content regardless of how many readers show up. More or less it would be the same content if it’s 100 readers or 100,000 readers.

Getting these ideas help me get better at my job and hopefully inspire or help someone else. I might have an image I’m proud of or an idea in my head about my work or life that I need to get down. If I’m having these struggles or questions it’s very likely there are others having these same thoughts. If they are having them at the same time I am or years later, they can read about how I handled it. Blogs have a long lasting shelf life, they exist on the internet until you decide to remove them. Which makes it a great marketing tool for yourself and your business if you are writing valuable content. Plus, writing and creating content for a blog keeps you creative and your mind active.

So the answer to “Why Blog?” is “Why Not?”