5 Reasons Why I Blog
February 9, 2007
If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed or by Email.
Thanks for visiting!
In a new twist on an old theme, Robert Hruzek has tagged me and asked me to share 5 reasons why I blog.
One of my favorite questions as a kid was, “Why?” And this new meme applies that question in an interesting approach to the simple idea of sharing some things about yourself that others may not know.
As a proponent of business blogging, the question of why blog is particularly interesting to me. And I hope it is something y’all will find interesting too. So thanks, Robert for the tag!
Self Expression
I’ve got a lot of words in me. I can’t help it. That’s just the way I’m wired. My wife would tell people that if they ever got a letter or email from me they’d know it because it would be a manuscript of epic proportions.
I didn’t write often, but when I did I tended to spill a whole bunch of words onto the page.
I’ve always had a vague idea that I’d like to be a writer one day and blogging is a way for me to direct that creativity in wordiness in a potentially useful way.
Self Discipline
I tend to resist discipline. That’s one of the reasons I chose to go into the military for the early portion of my career. I needed a little help in that department.
The nature of blogging forces me to be disciplined about writing.
I figured I’d never become a writer unless I started writing and initially blogging was simply a tool to help me learn the discipline of writing every day. My first personal blogs were just that. An exercise in discipline.
Of course then I caught the bug and now I’m a complete addict. Go figure.
Self Improvement
If you dig deep enough into the archives here at SuccessCREEations you will find that business blogging was far from my mind when I started blogging here. Initially it was what I called an open source self improvement project.
As I progressed along, writing about the things I was doing and the self improvement principles I learned, a strange thing happened. They actually worked.
I discovered something about myself. Namely that two of my passions were business and blogging and like a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup, they were two great tastes that taste great together.
So I decided to change direction here rather than start yet another blog and began writing about business blogging and how business owners can fuel growth through blogging. My consulting work there has developed from that over time.
I guess some of that self help stuff works!
Self Employment
I’ve always had an entrepreneurial streak. But I’ve never quite found something that fit me well enough to shuck off my conventional job. With blogging I’ve seen a convergence with several of my different skills and passions.
Well if I’m going to be telling businesses about using blogging to fuel their business growth, then I better eat my own dog food, so to speak.
Blogging better jolly well be the centerpiece of my business marketing strategy. If it wasn’t I’d be a charlatan of the highest order.
Fortunately in this case I’m a true believer. Besides, it really does work. So my marketing budget is simply the cost of a domain name and some hosting. Oh, and a little time to write each day.
Self Promotion
Do you get the feeling that my blogging is all about me?
Well in a way it is.
After all I am the one doing all the writing here. (Oh, and I am just a touch vain too!)
I finally just got my own iPod last month. (I think Gorgeous got tired of me stealing hers all the time.) I’m just now beginning to discover the wonder of podcasts.
One of my favorites so far is Heidi Miller’s Diary of a Shameless Self Promoter. (Thanks Becky for suggesting that one to me!)
Anyway Heidi doesn’t come at it from the perspective that we should just ignore our shame and get on with being obnoxious about promoting ourselves. When she says “shameless self promotion” she means that we should each understand the value we each bring to the table, be comfortable in our own skins as it were, and be able to share about ourselves in a way that we won’t be ashamed of.
I think that’s brilliant.
And blogging fits my core values, and my business model an therefore is one of the primary ways I can accomplish that.
Passing It On
This time, in the spirit of all things meme, like a kid on the playground I’ll pass it on. So here are five folks that I’m tagging because I’d love to hear share 5 reasons why you blog: Liz Strauss, Christine Kane, Mike Sansone, Phil Gerbyshak, and of course Starbucker.
Let’s all be watching our feed readers for the answers!
Enjoy!
Okay, let’s see. Five reasons why you blog. That should be fairly easy. You wrote them right up there. I think can handle this.
Yeah, I got it!
Chris,
Instead of “eat my own dog food”, try the infinitely better “drink my own champagne”!
Mike
[...] “So here are five folks that I’m tagging because I’d love to hear share 5 reasons why you … [...]
OK Chris, you’re on! Tune in tomorrow……
Cool. I’m looking forward to some great why’s from all y’all. Christine’s already gave us some good ones.
Thank goodness I’m the new gal on the block. (Ducking tags) I was just hit with one yesterday.
Great tag and I must say great answers!
Margaret, I’m not so sure it’s an old folks thing so much as I decided to limit my self to 5 tags. (You know 5 things + 5 tags = nice symmetry in my crazy little world.)
Please feel free to share and tag along. [Touch]
Thanks for the tag, Chris. It gave me lots to think about as I move into my one-year blog birthday next month! Your reasons are great! (offers him a high-five)
Happy (blog) Birthday Christine!
I love it when people are thinking.
[...] a close friend, Chris Cree, asks me a question, like the one at the end of this post, “Why do you blog?” I have to figure out whether to respond with my default response –a deep meaningful [...]
[...] you seen the new tagging meme going around the blogosphere? Valeria Maltoni and Chris Cree have. They tagged Mike Sansone at Converstations who tagged me. The theme of the meme (sorry, [...]
it is fnatastic that you are an honest blogger. readers like the truth.
marcia
abetteryou.wordpress.com
[...] while I wasn’t specifically tagged, I felt the vibes from eMoms at Home, Converstations, and SuccessCREEations, and decided to throw my hat in the ring, too. Here are the five reasons I [...]
[...] on board if I found them interesting to read on other blogs. I have to admit, I’ve enjoyed reading what other folks [...]
Why do I blog?
I need to write.
I need to connect with people.
I need to share my thoughts with others.
I need to learn from others.
I need the money. (What money? Show me the money)
Trevor, I think your question is a good subject for a post. But in the meantime one of the best resources is by one of your fellow Aussies, Darren Rowse, called problogger.net.
He’s got tons of information about making money online via blogging. I’ve learned a ton there about how to make my blogs better in general too.
[...] to Make Blogging Make Money For You By Chris A while back Trevor Hemphal left a comment on my 5 Reasons Why I Blog post that has stuck with [...]
Absolutely! Self-promotion should be a proud, wonderful, life-affirming thing we do not just for us but for the benefit of others as well. No shame involved at all!
Heidi, I think subscribing to your podcast (after finally getting an iPod of my own) has really helped me come to understand self-promotion from a healthy perspective. Yours is definitely one of my “must haves”. Thanks for putting it together week after week.
And thanks for stopping by SuccessCREEations!
[...] I’ll tag five people who I don’t necessarily know, but whose work and/or blog I greatly admire: Chris Cree, William Tully, Jessica Hagy, Pete Aldin and Chip Camden. I hope you don’t mind, friends, but [...]
Practical that one can handle as liz says. Nice post.
Thanks,Dio!
Success is a mindset. Everyone can have success if they make up in their minds. If you live and breath, then you always have to negotiate your way through life, but if you know the law of attraction, it can help you to achieve almost anything you want in life including great success. I think the mind is a terrible thing to waste.
What a great post Chris. You seems to have a lot of passion for blogging which is very good.
Keep up the good work!
Cin77, Thanks for the kind words! And welcome to SuccessCREEations.
[...] 5 Reasons Why I Blog – My fourth most viewed post this past year was surprisingly a meme post about, well the 5 reasons why I blog. And yes, apparently my blogging is all about me. [...]
[...] friend Chris Cree at SuccessCREEations has tagged me with the latest “5 Things” meme, asking for 5 reasons why I blog. [...]
Really interesting. Well you for sure know why your doing it.
I think in the end it does help when we know exactly why we are doing something.
Cheers!
Merry Christmas . i think you is a great in writing blog
Blogs enable the owner to create a long term asset that improves your ratings with search engines, gains exposure from other high traffic blogs and can open up multiple channels of traffic that will transform into customers and distributors in your business, for life.