Comments on: Why To Blog As Yourself (Even if That’s Not What You Sell)

By: Should You Blog About the Same Topics as Everyone Else in Your Niche? - Remarkablogger

Fri, 19 Feb 2010 02:17:29 +0000

[...] they like you: they like the way you explain things, the way you write. This is why you should be as personal as you feel you can be on your blog and inject as much personality as you can into your writing. So, even though they could get this [...]

By: ElizabethPW

ElizabethPW — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 03:54:04 +0000

holy crap that's awesome. #thatisall

By: remarkablogger

remarkablogger — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 03:46:35 +0000

Elizabeth & Johnny: here is something I noticed a long time ago when studying literature and learning how to write: The more personal you get, the more universal it is.

By: Wendy Maynard

Wendy Maynard — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 02:20:08 +0000

Holly and Michael,

Thanks so much for writing/posting this. I love that you've already had so much success by being you. I think you are brave since a lot of people struggle to do just that. They think they have to be like so and so, or be a professional voice, or whatever silliness we tell ourselves. But all we really have to do is just fully show up and be ourselves – that is so friggin' cool.

Best, Wendy

By: ElizabethPW

ElizabethPW — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 02:05:36 +0000

Thank you.

And, *I* didn't know who I was when I was at BlogWorld.

And, yes, SXSW, 4sure.

By: ElizabethPW

ElizabethPW — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 01:59:13 +0000

Now I feel bad that I didn't say the word “awesometastic” or use a hashtag in my comment above.

I totally get that “I need to be profound” thing, and then I can't write. So then I write a post about how I can't write. And people think that's profound. #peopleareweird

By: Johnny B. Truant

Johnny B. Truant — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 01:51:15 +0000

I'm just going to add a big "right the fuck on" to this discussion. It's strange... I thought I was kind of inventing this strategy (if it were a strategy) of writing about nothing in order to sell something, but that was just because I don't pay attention to what other people are doing.

The strange thing is that you have to fight to keep doing it. I got a lot of attention lately via Copyblogger and the Third Tribe, and with the new attention, I found myself thinking about the first thing those new people would see, and thinking that it should be profound.

It's hard to realize that no, I should write about farting if the urge strikes me.

By: remarkablogger

remarkablogger — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 01:19:29 +0000

Elizabeth, you are absolutely KILLING it. Your blog is a must-visit. When we
met at BlogWorld, I hardly knew who you were, but now that I've been reading
your stuff and seeing what you're up to, I'm really glad we did meet.
Looking forward to whenever the next time is, too. SXSW, maybe.

By: ElizabethPW

ElizabethPW — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 00:37:41 +0000

That's awesome. I can't even tell you how much my business (and life) have changed when I started just going full-out me on my blog.

Interestingly, I didn't start there ... I found my voice on twitter. For some reason, 140 characters that just fly by on the stream were easier for me to get over at first. And I got feedback & followers ... and then finally realized (duh) that I should use that same voice on my blog.

But I wasn't able to yet, had to let go of lawyer-talk ... so I spent about 6 months not writing anything (June to Nov) and did my blog purely through video.

Now I do a mix of writing & video, and a mix of almost completely personal, behind the scenes business, and then a bit of business related posts ... but they *always* tell a story.

And that's huge. Even when I'm writing a "10 tips for" kind of post, I tell a story (which demonstrates personality, is more interesting to read, etc.).

By: ElizabethPW

ElizabethPW — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 23:54:04 +0000

holy crap that's awesome. #thatisall