Liz Strauss (@lizstrauss on Twitter) had been at WordCamp Chicago (June 6-7, 2009) and talked about many basics behind blogging. However, it was one thing that I could not pass up to blog about and share. I am always finding time to pull up notes from presentations I have attended because there is a meaningful lesson to be learned or reminded of.
When you blog, you need to be authentic- be yourself. I found myself nodding while listening to Liz. I can remember all the wank through the years from bloggers not being who they were. I even remember people trying to call me out, and guess what… I have always been myself.
How can people visit another’s blog and comment when they do not believe you? Are you consistent about yourself? Are you blogging from experience or are you there to just be another person handing out the same information as other websites?
I can agree with Liz when she said, “I can find information anywhere, blog your experience with your information.”
When your blog might have a similar subject like so many other blogs, I choose to come to read and comment because I am reading about your experience. Especially with blogs about WordPress, I am fairly picky. I want more layman’s terms and a little bit of personality. I want to know why I should use one particular code string, versus another, especially since I tend to read blogs late at night when I am slightly tired and blurry-eyed. If I want WordPress information, cut, dry and straight, I will go to the Codex, but if you are going to pass a catchy-phrased tutorial link through my Twitter stream, it better be as catchy as it sounds.
Remember this, your blog may be visited by many people, or very few, but each are different. The only thing in common is that they choose to visit your site because they find you authentic.
Are your authentic? Do you blog from experience? Have you had experiences with people who were not who they said they were?
(Note: Photo is compliments of @LisaSabinWilson.)
Good point. I’m not a blogger. Actually, I’ve been one, but just have no time. Online tends to be the fun stuff.
I’ve encountered some fakeness with bloggers. It was obvious and a real turn-off. I admit I just visit friend’s blogs more than strangers. Sorry if my responses seems kinda dumb. Like I said, blogger stuff isn’t my forte.
Lydia’s last blog post..null
Great post – Thanks for sharing.
Its not the newest published article buts still offers viable and informative content.
Thanks again for sharing.
As much as possible I want to write authentic articles and base on my experience so I can narrate it in my own way.
I think being yourself is most important when doing anything. The fake it until you make it attitude will only get you so far. If people don’t like “you”.. Then find ways to spice “you” up… Don’t go as far as being something you’re not. Great post.
You are right about that. People can tell by reading your posts if you are being authentic or just trying to make a sale or have another agenda.
People follow leaders, not wanna be’s. I think that when you share posts from the heart, people will gravitate to you and you possess a warmer feeling with the audience. I wish more people would GET it!
Great post and thanks for sharing!
It the only purpose is to make money I think one can succeed without being honest with its readers, but if the purpose is to create a strong long term link with the readers, being authentic is compulsory.
I totally agree! I’m not a blogger but I love to read about real experiences of other people and their interests that I can relate to.
Being yourself is one aspect that everyone likes. Either in real life or while blogging. If you are yourself you express your own opinions and then you can justify them with the right statements! If you are not yourself, you will find yourself lying a lot of times…
Great Post.
I believe blogging its some thing in itself giving people knowledge from your experience to educate them on certain issues which can help people while they faced that similar situation and that’s where I think some one can be made authentic, by producing the viable content.
I have to agree with you about writing in your own voice. It makes it so much easier to say what you have to say. It took me time to feel comfortable throwing in my opinions, too. I’m more of a write and pass on sort of person. I have to remember that it’s my blog, so I can elaborate and slow it down if I wish
Hi Nile,
Authenticity is very important for a website or blog. I often visit this website because it looks authentic and I always want to be my ownself in my work.
You have to be yourself as trying to be some one you are not will never span out as you say in the post. I think most of my readers come back because of the way I am not how I think they would want me to be.
We are all different as you point out and to keep ones individuality is very important while blogging and trying to keep followers interested in what you have to say.
Very interesting and informative article. Good job, thanks for sharing!
Remaining authentic can be a hard thing to strive for, especially with something cut and dry like say, sunglasses ;-). Company blogs definitely have a harder time of it, but it can be done. For personal blogs, they have to be authentic, especially if people who know you in the real world are reading it. It can be a funny thing how people self-edit their real life when they share it with their virtual friends/readers.
Some nice points you made out ..being your self is the most important thing anybody need in any sort of work .. be it a blogging or any other stuff.
you have to concise your meaning in blogging areas.
Authenticity is very important for a website or blog.
You are appropriate about that. Humans can acquaint by account your posts if you are getting accurate or just aggravating to accomplish a auction or accept addition agenda.
People chase leaders, not wanna be’s. I anticipate that if you allotment posts from the heart, humans will approach to you and you acquire a warmer activity with the audience. I ambition added humans would GET it!
Great column and acknowledgment for sharing!
Nile,
It’s so true about being yourself and not regurgitating the same rehash you’ve heard hundreds of times before. I love it when someone interjects a story about an experience they had. It makes it real.
It is so much more than just getting information. There is soooo much of it out there today. How do you connect to information? Poorly, I would suggest.
I love what Dan Kennedy teaches. If the herd is running in one direction, you run the other way. Simple. Brilliant!
RICK
This should really be very interesting for all of us.. Anyway, thanks for the help here then..
Hi Neli, its me again and i wonder where this speech of Liz happen, is this the event you raise fund for.
This is a great and interesting post specially faking thing and fake blogs .
As far as I’m concern, Only fake people will only have the guts to make fake blogs…
Thank you for sharing this NILE
WOOPS JUNE 6-7 2009…. my bad.
Hello Nile, I agree, being “yourself” as a blogger is the best way. However, some blogs are great when the author has a persona, which he or she uses all the time on that particular blog. For example, Manolo’s shoe blog is written using a persona, and is a really fun and popular blog.
I always try to write about stuff I know through my experiences. I always want to be as authentic as I can. As a blogger myself I want to write great content and I know it is not always easy.
I must admit that I have worked as a ghost writer (you know write without your name known) and I reassure you I had created personas that were even mentioning one another..
It is very important to write about something you know and not because it is famous among other blogs. Ghost writers exist everywhere and to be honest, it is a good way to practice a bit before you start showing your name here and there.
You can write unique idea as a writer if you will be yourself. nice post!
Thanks for the re-post. The advise is still very relevant even with the newest Google Penguin update. Being yourself and writing from personal experience is so very important.
This is quite a wake up call really. Being yourself attracts readers. Being a real person can signal interest to different blog surfers. Yes, apart from searching for quality content, readers can definitely pin point if who they are reading are true.
I “do myself” all the time these days. Mostly it is beneficial. As Lou Reed put it ‘ O do me better than anyone else”.
You may enjoy this blog on authenticity and integrity
http://humandynamics.wordpress.com/2011/08/27/bill-nelson-integrity-and-creativity-in-a-bottle/
Blogging is also one way of expressing ourselves and as a blogger, it is very important to be as genuine as you are..
Being myself when writing is my first rule. It brings the best ideas in me
I like this quote –
I can agree with Liz when she said, “I can find information anywhere, blog your experience with your information.”
Experience with information — that’s the added value.
Hi Nile,
I love the point of being authentic. My best posts are articles of my original content of personal stories. I love writing them and sharing them. They are the ones that come from inspiration and create the best responses and thought from my readers.
On the other side, my favorite blogs to visit are written by bloggers who are authentic and genuine. That is one reason I love to visit and comment on your blog. I like your style and personality and it shows through your posts. Thanks for sharing!
Raena Lynn
Hi Nile,
Nice article and I agree with ya.
Just be yourself in everything you do
and wait for the results you will be suprised.
Sandy
it is the most important thing which attracts the readers they now who they are reading to just like novels or books you need to show your real self, it also builds good authorship and social presence
I am always attracted to bloggers who wear their heart on their sleeve. It makes it much more personal and I feel like there is a real person behind the blog. By the way I love the look and name of your blog!
Authority blog has it’s own impression which easily makes positive effects on people. It is also important to include effective information in authority blog which provides large benefits of users with good reputation.
One of the biggest problems bloggers face is believing in quantity and exposure over the quality of their content. Ultimately what brings people into your site and keeps them there is genuine, interesting material that is worth the time to engage with.
I’ve tried to be authentic on my social media blog. Probably my most authentic post ever was one titled, “Hope is Not a Good Blogging Strategy.”
Because I’ve no idea how to keyword it or make it rank in search engines, it rarely receives any hits. But at least it was therapeutic to write.
In the post, I spoke of the time one of my blogs died and on the same date I had to take my wife to the emergency room while 1000 miles away from home and on the road, and at the same time my son was going through some tough times of his own and my car broke down. All this in the same two day period.
I was honest, but alas, no one knows about it. Still, it ws neat to be authentic and I always am, but most of the time, I keep the personal stuff personal.
Thanks for a great post.
Writing is not easy – at least not to me, and especially when I’m not writing in my mother-tongue. But I like to share info with others and getting feedback from them. For me, authenticity comes over time, with experience and confidence
Hi Nile, it’s very important for a blog to be unique and authentic, there are so many sites and blogs on the web so users have many options to find what they want to read but they visit only a few they can trust…
I agree wholeheartedly. However, I do believe that some people act more “tough” on a blog because it’s the internet. Just be yourself.
This is good points for beginners. I am a new blogger myself and I thought that this was very helpful.
As Jerry Lewis said in The Nutty Professor: “You might as well like you because you’re going to have to live with you all your life.” I guess the same could be said about blogging.
I have always been a person that like to talk and debate on practically everything in life. Blogging is my new bible and I seem to comment on about 30 blogs a day. It’s good fun and it allows you to put the world to rights.
Good point. I’m not a blogger. Actually, I’ve been one, but just have no time. Online tends to be the fun stuff.
I’ve encountered some fakeness with bloggers. It was obvious and a real turn-off. I admit I just visit friend’s blogs more than strangers. Sorry if my responses seems kinda dumb. Like I said, blogger stuff isn’t my forte.
I had my 1st public speaking 1 month ago and I was relaxed and totally connected with my heart and the other poeples’ heart.
No expectations not attachments, just being who I am when I speak to friends.
The results was awesome and this made me think how importnat it is to be congruent with each step we take in our business.
Non verbal communication counts for 94% when it comes to infleuncing others!
Thansk Nile!
Being yourself is expressing your freedom on something. Blogging is one way of expressing yourself’s interest to write blogs that you can relate so that readers will relate too.
Great post. authenticity is very important because it will bring more customers and readers to your blog.
we can check our authenticity through best bloggers comments that what they said about us.
It’s a good point you make about being yourself and it pays to speak from your heart. I try to make my posts interesting and always offer something of value to the reader. Telling stories is another way to get visitors’ interest – we all love a good story and this is another way to hold someone’s interest.
Hi Nile,
You’re absolutely right. Blogging is not dead, and I can’t see it dead even in the next 10 years. It’s the best way to make your own “name,” and being your self is the best thing you can do make your own brand. You may have haters for what you do or say, that’s for sure, but it’s not your job to please everybody.
Really thoughtful stuff, Nile. You really revealed informative thoughts on authenticity. But I believe that making and maintaining authenticity is not an easy job. Understanding the value of readers and how best treat them could be a good step toward authenticity.
Nile,
This is great stuff!
I coach all my group members to find their passion and only write about their daily adventure surround that passion.
Even the ones who never wrote before found after our exercise of the foundation on writing a quick article for a blog. They can not stop writing and fill their blogs with only their life experiences focusing on activities for personal and business growth. It is truly amazing to read their first one and then follow then this lifetime journey. They get really great with even answering all comments left. They are at the top of their game.
I read over 100 blogs on very active week. Most are just copy & paste information that can be found anywhere. I am so tired of listening to the same six or five public speakers articles and ideas on other people’s blogs. They need to get real and put effort in writing about things from their insight.
They seem to be clueless in what our industry is really about. People want to be involved with us who use our life experiences to share methods that work. How to videos are getting boring. They all are the same. Hey, telling people and showing them how to find something on this platform or that. That is crazy when all the people have to do is look themselves. It is right on each platform how to’s. I feel more people are too lazy and it shows. Good luck to them even though I do not believe in luck.
Nile your exciting with your style of writing and you keep it real. That is what attracts me to you and I would not give it up for the world. Thank you for allowing me into your life and sharing with me.
I agree with you. Being true to yourself is important because what you say in your blogs is a reflection of who you are and what you believe in. Writing about your experiences and ideas you may have can help others out there who have gone through the same experiences.
Thanks for the great post you should be yourself and true to yourself is very important to your chosen field..Thanks for sharing to us your article.
i am a new blogger it is very important thing who they read books novels and stories .you need to show yourself .it is a very informative thing for me
I blog and I do what I love!