I respect how every blogger has a different brand image and writing voice, but be careful about how you blog.
My mother in law passed away last night. I shared this on my blog and through a few guest posts today. Why? I am a person. I blog like a human being. Human beings suffer through the death of loved ones. People have highs and lows, ups and downs, triumphs and trials. I blog about all on my blog, all the while teaching you successful blogging tips.
But some bloggers blog like a persona, a carefully crafted, manipulating brand image that emits a perfect, spotless, flawless life. I do understand how some bloggers choose not to add any elements of their personal-private life into their blogs, but sharing only the most positive moments from your life experience sends a false image to readers. Who only experiences the most spectacular, mesmerizing life, 100% of the time? No human save enlightened souls travel through life with a complete state of poise, calm, serene and balance, seeing the miracle of it all. I spend 3-4 hours daily meditating, doing Kriya yoga and doing yin yoga, and have struggled a little bit over the past 2 days. Plus I did not paint my 2nd mom’s passing as a pure blessed event. In reality, she has returned home, but my human mind feels sad, down and a bit depressed, here and there. So I share these feelings and the fact that my loved ones die, as occurs with every human being who reaches a certain age.
Personas lose credibility as a genuine human because no human lives only the most positive, high energy, life. Personas run fictional blogs because if readers see only positive events, the same readers assume the blogger lives a perfect life. That is fiction. No one lives a perfect life. Even worse, confused readers wonder what they do wrong, since they are trying to live the same perfect life as the blogger, but keep coming up short. In truth, this is a common problem because most bloggers fear looking vulnerable, emotional and weak, when in fact, being vulnerable makes you powerful, human and strong.
We admire people who overcome obstacles, not super humans who have no difficulties in life. Humans love people who face and grow through heartache, not robots who cannot feel emotions. Add your humanity, to your blog. Blog like a person. Stop blogging like a persona. Stop carefully crafting your brand image, life and writing voice to reflect only the most positive, uplifting experiences of your life. Be vulnerable. Share more of a full experience with your readers. Guaranteed, bloggers who experience the greatest success inspire readers by being honest, genuine, vulnerable and….human. Humans win. All personas either fall by the wayside or build large followings of unrealistic, deluded people, or of bizarre worshipers, who want to emulate the perfection of the bloggers-personas, being detached from reality.
I always intended to be 100% genuine in what I do online. Do the same to connect deeply with your readers. Even though I feared doing this as a newish blogger, I knew this was the path to both succeeding online and sleeping well at night. I met a few bloggers offline who told me I was just like my online voice; real. However, said bloggers indicated how a few awkward meetings with online personas who turned out to be quite different in real life, left a sour taste in their mouth.
Blog like a person.
Stop blogging like a persona.
eBook
Do you struggle to find your writing voice? I had a tough time uncovering mine, but discovered how writing my rear end off helped me carve out my niche. But drilling deeper, you can use a few more tips to hone your writing style. Do you want ‘em? Buy my eBook:
How to Find Your Writing Voice
