An activity for you...!
[This is part of the Developing Great Blog Content Series. Check out the other posts!]
This is a natural follow-up post to the one yesterday that covered in depth how to strategically align your blog with your core passions, expertise, and unique value.
One of the next steps for you after reading this blog post is to begin to list out explicitly what those things are!
So your simple activity over the next few days is to do just that! Here are some additional thoughts to help get the juices (and motivation) flowing:
1. List Out Your Blog-Ready Passions:
First you’ll just want to begin to write down all of the things that you’re passionate about as they come to mind. Don’t have any filters – just write!
Then, after 10 minutes of time (which is more than you need) take a look back through this list and then sort it into two types: Blog-Ready and Not Blog-Ready.
Love me some yogurt.
The thing that you’ll want to make sure here is that you actually list out passions that are bloggable or as I say “blog-ready” because the simple fact is that you have tons of things that you’re passionate about but not all of them are as good as others for an effective blog.
For example, I loooooooooove frozen yogurt. I take my daughter to a local self-serve frozen yogurt shop at least once a week.
Am I passionate about frozen yogurt? You’re darn right I am! But is it the right thing to create an entire blog around? Definitely not.
Do you see the difference? The challenge here is to be as critical as possible about your passions in terms of effectiveness and to list out the ones that you feel you could really present well and consistently in an effective blog format.
Got it? Go!
2. List Out Your True Areas of Expertise:
The same activity here as above but again be very careful (and honest) about what you list out! What I’ve realized is that there are very few areas where I would consider myself remotely close to being an expert!
Filter it...
In fact, you might personally struggle with even thinking of yourself and using the word “expert” and your own name in the same sentence!
But, if you can in humility begin to list out the things that you feel you are competent in then please go for it! Certainly we all can improve even in the areas of our expertise but go ahead and list them out!
Then, filter through them and again ask yourself which ones will do well in the format and culture of a blog.
3. List Out Unique Values and Intangible Goods:
Finally, begin to list out the unique things that are only available to you. I’ve shared with you 10 of the things that came first into my head when doing this activity and go ahead and do it for yourself!
This is a fun activity and you’ll be surprised at what you come up with. In fact, please share them with me because I’d love to know what they are!
3 Things To Do With This List:
After you’ve spent the time to list all of things out you’re going to want to first take a break (perhaps a day or two) and then revisit it to see if you’ve had any changes.
Secondly, you’re going to want to share this list with those that know you best to see not only their reactions but also their recommendations. It seems so silly but sometimes our friends and family know our strengths (and weaknesses) better than we do!
Thirdly, keep this new edited list on hand as we walk through developing great content series – we’ll mention it more than a few times and you’ll want to reference it constantly as you continue to build out your blog! It should be a great place for you to come back to as your blog changes and evolves, and even as your interests and expertise grow and change!
Love to know your thoughts and feel free to share them in the comments or on your blog! In fact, take a picture of your lists and link them in the comments!
[This is part of the Developing Great Blog Content Series. Check out the other posts!]
Thanks, John! Added to my To Do List.
If I get a chance to work through it this weekend, I’ll let you know what I come up with.
sweet! go for it!
Thanks for these last two posts; there’s a lot here to think about, and do!
hopefully they were beneficial!
I found this sooo useful when starting up from scratch.
Good idea to show it to people… hadn’t thought of that.
for sure! it helps me process things better.
Another great exercise. Hard to keep up with them all. Definitely will use this to re-affirm things.
I really like the idea of going to those who know you best to get that affirmation. Those around us know if we actually breath it, talk it and walk it out. Passion cannot be hidden.
sure thing greg! just take your time walking through these things.
my list: https://dl-web.dropbox.com/get/Photo%20Apr%2017%2C%2012%2032%2022%20AM.jpg?w=d31d0901
link doesn’t work!
John
This is some excellent stuff. I write a blog about helping people prepare for uncertain times by engaging in what I call Professional Diversification. These three tips you’ve identified for blogging also work well for people looking for a new career path or just starting a career. It’s important to know what you’re good at and what you’re passionate about to get into a career you’re going to enjoy. Because the best career is not necessarily one that makes us a lot of money doing, but something that makes us very happy.
Thanks,
Eric
eric,
thanks so much bro! i love this idea of “professional diversification”… i think that’s the first time i’ve heard of that!
Thanks John! I’m glad you like it. I’m really tryin hard to coin the term and I think I’m getting there!
-Eric
that is sweet.
I actually think you could blog about Frozen Yogurt. It would take a lot of work and creativity for creating consistent, quality content and monetizing but that makes you a better person. Then whomever wants to know about frozen yogurt or a big brand/company that makes frozen yogurt could sponsor you.
i love frozen yogurt. check this out:
http://human3rror.com/yogli-mogli-yum/
This series and this post in particular has really helped me focus on what I should be writing about. Thank you for that. I can’t wait to see what the other post have in store.
-Kyle
sure thing kyle!