TRUE TO YOU~

We are all extremely busy professionals.  Professionals who are trying to kep up to speed with our business, our industry, our clients, our friends, our families (our kidlets who are always running circles around us), and more.  So, what is it that we should do when we blog?  I am so new to blogging (less than one moneth even) that I cannot say with great clarity that I am the expert, but here is what I have learned so far...

                                                                    STAY TRUE TO YOU!!!

• There are so many bloggers!  In real estate web blogs, Active Rain alone is over 43K.  What is going to make you stand out apart from everyone else?  Staying true to yourself.  Your own unique voice, and the way you communicate with "cyberspace".  I have a good friend, we can call him Marc, to protect the innocent.  He talked to me the other day and reminded me that all of my first blogs had a trademark at the end.  I have not used that signature line for the past week or two.  Why?  I do not know, I got too busy?  No, it was probably that I thought other people would tire of it.  If people get tired of it, oh well!  It is staying true to me.  So, it will carry on in future blogs!  You will have to get to the bottom of this post to see what it is...
• What is your niche?  Your target audience?  If you specialize in something, or are truly an "expert" in a given area -- write about that!  You should not be changing your blog to reflect what you think the masses will want.  We are all individuals and God made us that way on purpose.  There are many people out there who will identify with you, not me...not Joe, but you.   You cannot be an effective writer if you are not being truthful with yourself and your readers.  I can spot a "fake" out there.  The writing lacks passion and emotion.  Being true to yourself will bring you great success!  You do not need to establish yourself as a local expert, because you ARE a local expert!
• Staying true to you is hard work...  Very true, it can be.  I find that if I sit for a very long time, thinking about my next words, it is not true to me.  My truest blogs (like this one) are when I write and do not look back.  Now, let me say this -- because I am being true to me.  Please do go back and read what you wrote.  Take the time to make certain that it makes sense and that it contains proper spelling and grammer.  It is a pet peeve of mine to see things wrong all throughout a website, post, blog, or anywhere.
• Be an example, a good one!  How many of us have seen the blogs all fussing about copyrighted things, plagarism, and things of that nature?  I have and I tend to agree with many of them!  I will tell you a not so little secret.  If you are staying true to you, that is not a problem.  No one writes like you, talks like you, smiles like you, laughs like you, cares like you, etc.  You are unique!  You are an individual.  Your emotions, thoughts, feelings, and desires will not resonate with everyone -- but they will mean a great deal to the right person.  Write from yourself.  Get ideas from other places, to be sure.  But write...on your own.
• Stay true to you means that you stay true to those people who need you.  They may not yet be clients.  Perhaps they are just people looking for a bit of hope.  Perhaps they need to laugh.  Again, your individuality may be the only thing that sets you apart and makes someone's day.  In this world, we all count on one another.  Some people are forced to count on complete strangers.  So, be true to you -- be true to them.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   I try to teach my children the "Stay True to You" message, too...it seems to work!

I think that is all of the truth that I feel inspired to write about at this moment in time, as my writing flurry seems to be slowing.  I would certainly appreciate your thoughts and feelings on this post.  And, I hope that you know, I will be watching, reading, and writing...  (Thank you, "Marc").  :-)