Blogging with Beth

This week, I started doing something I’ve been wanting to do for YEARS – I starting sending out a weekly blogging tip to my mailing list. It’s called “Beth Blogging Byte”, and if you’re on my list, you’ll see it every Wednesday in your inbox. Each issue of the Blogging Byte will give you a specific action to take that will make your blog or social media presence better. Most weeks, this content is ONLY going to be available to the people on my mailing list, so if you’d like to make sure you get these actions, please sign up for my list here. When you sign up, you’ll also get access to my super-awesome Blogging with Beth Library, which includes advice on blog post ideas, using RSS on your site, and traffic-building!

This week, though, I’ve decided to share the Blogging Byte content with you, so you can see what you’ll get when you sign up for my list. If you like this article, please retweet it or share it on Facebook!

This Week: How Being Vulnerable Can Make You a Better (and More Successful) Blogger

It’s no secret that I’m a huge fan of the TED conferences. The TED events are a global set of conferences, formed to disseminate “ideas worth spreading,” and there are over 700 presentations and talks you can view online at TED.com. One of my all-time favorite TED talks is a presentation by researcher/storyteller Brene Brown. Here’s her incredible talk about connection, vulnerability, and what it means to be human.

If you haven’t seen this video yet, please take a few moments and watch it now. It will change your life. Don’t worry, I’ll wait for you to watch it. I’ll be here when you get back.

Okay – assuming you went and watched it – I want to talk about why Ms. Brown’s discussion on connection is so important for bloggers. It’s important because I believe the greatness and popularity of a blog are in direct proportion to the ability of that blogger to be vulnerable in her writing.

Want an example of the kind of vulnerability I’m talking about? Read this post by one of my current favorite bloggers, Ree Drummond of The Pioneer Girl.

I’ll practically guarantee that unless you have a heart of stone (and I know you don’t, dear readers), you will moved by this post. Yes, it’s sentimental, and yes, she’s really putting her emotions and her baggage out there for everyone to see. And that is what makes it GREAT.

Ree Drummond is not afraid to write from the heart. And writing from the heart is the reason The Pioneer Girl has landed two book deals. It’s the reason she been on the Today show many, MANY times. And it’s the reason that her blog receives several million hits a month. She is coy about publishing her traffic stats, so I don’t have exact numbers. Suffice it to say that The Pioneer Girl makes a very nice living from her blog.

Writing from the heart is what connects you with your readers, and it is what will keep them coming back to your site again and again and again. They come back because they like YOU and want you to be vulnerable in your writing. So give your readers what they want. It will be good for you, too.

Here’s your action for this week – Be vulnerable on your blog. Write a post about something a little more personal than you normally do. Share something with your readers that they don’t know about you. And yes, business bloggers, this DOES include you, too! Your business is about YOU, and your customers do want you to be open and vulnerable with them.

After you’ve completed this week’s task, post on Facebook with your success!