Blogging isn't for me! Really?

I was watching an old movie recently and it got me to thinking about movies I love.  There were three movies in past that I absolutely did not want to see, and I ignored them for years.  After a little pressure from a friend, I went to see "The Way We Were."  It turned out to be one of my favorite movies.  That was followed by, "Fried Green Tomatoes," and "Million Dollar Baby."  Again, they are two of my all time favorite movies.

Why did I ignore them initially?  I don't really know, but there was something about the way they were presented to me that caused me to say no to the movies.  What I learned (very slowly) from the experience is that good things may not be of interest to you initially, but they can make the difference in your life and business.

Blogging was one of those things.  I had no desire or interest in blogging.  My wife kept pushing me to do it, but I wasn't interested enough to even investigate it.  I convinced myself that I was to busy.  I didn't think I had anything to say.  It seemed to laborious.  I didn't think anyone would read my blog.  I really didn't see the value.  She finally won out.

When I finally started blogging, I took off slow like most people do.  Over the course of a few months I picked up the pace and started blogging regularly.  Then it happened.  The phone started ringing.  Not only did it start ringing, but it started ringing a lot.  A large portion of my business is a direct result of blogging.  It is the number one funnel for new business into both of my companies. 

So, before you convince yourself that blogging isn't for you, give it a try.  Make a commitment to blog for six months to a year and see what happens.  It didn't take six months for my blogging to take off, but give yourself at least that much time.  If you get to the end of the test period and it hasn't produced anything, ask yourself a couple questions.

• What did I blog about?  Was it about my puppy, children and vacation, or did I blog about things a buyer/seller would need to know in order to hire me?  Personal blogs are OK as a part of your thread, but if you're blogging for business, you will want to blog about things that clients need to know.
  
• Are my blogs laid out in a simple understandable way?  Or are they clunky and awkward to read?
• Was there a point or call to commitment in my blog?
• Did I include links to my website in my blog? Did I get the best SEO use from my blog?
  
• Is there a way for readers to contact me? I'm amazed at how many blogs have no contact information included.
• Did I educate myself about blogging along the way? Blogging is not rocket science, but there is a learning curve.
• Can I honestly say I gave it 100%?  Be honest.
  

If you're like me and those three movies, you may find that blogging becomes one of your favorite marketing tools.  I seriously doubt that that there is anything that will keep me from blogging in the future.  The numbers compel me to stick with a system that works, and I didn't even want to do it initially.  I'm glad I finally took the first step.

Blogging isn't for me!  Really?