My first post was all about how I went from a social networking naysayer to an all-in, Facebooking Twit of a Blogger.  Now that I am very seasoned, with a grand total of 8 posts, I think I am qualified to give just one tip.  So here it is, a tip from a beginning blogger…

How to Overcome the Fear That You Have Nothing of Value to Say

When I considered starting my blog, my biggest hesitation was the difficulty of coming up with something of value to write about each and every week.  What in the heck could I have to say that would matter to people? 

I decided to sit down and write out a list of possible topics to get me started.  In my first hour of doing this, I came up with 57 topics.  Then I asked two of my team members to help me add to the list.  I asked them to help me recollect some of the things that I have repeated often, trained others on, struggled with and celebrated.  Within 30 minutes my list climbed to 97 topics. 

This really helped me to jump into blogging.  No more fear of having to sit there and contrive something insightful and valuable to say each and every week.  I had a list of topics to keep me busy for a year! 

If you are struggling with this same fear, spend an hour or so writing down every lesson that you have learned that has helped you get to where you are in your career or life.  Write down the victories and the failures.  Include as many topics as you can.  Don’t worry about having the catchiest title or categorizing them at this stage.  Just do a complete brain dump and you will be surprised and maybe even amazed by what you come up with.

Then, look to those who know you well for additional suggestions.  You may find that something simple you have taken for granted has made a powerful impact on someone close to you.

Creating my list showed me that, because of what I get to do each and every day as a coach, I have plenty of stories and insights that I have learned from many of you, my clients.  So thank you!  What you have shared with me has given me ammunition to help many others.

As Seth Godin says in Tribes, our world needs more strong leaders with a point of view.  What you have learned can be shared to positively impact so many lives.

For any of you thinking about enhancing your brand through social networking, you now have my first blogging tip.  I hope it helps a few of you to jump on into the conversation!

Related posts:

1. Daniel Harkavy Has a Blog?

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Tags: Blogging, Brain Dump, Social Networking

This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 8th, 2009 at 9:59 am and is filed under Communication. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.