This is post 3 in the Adding a Personal Touch to Your Blog Series
I can hardly believe that I’m encouraging bloggers to be more emotional in their blogging (blogging is a medium that is sometimes accused of being too emotionally based) but I think quite a few entrepreneurial blogs could add a new dimension to their blogging if they injected a little feeling into what can be terribly dry and one dimensional posts.
I’m not saying you need to rant in every post – but to allow readers to see what you feel (and not just think) about the things you post on and join you in that can have a powerful impact upon readership.
If something excites you – let your post convey that, if you’re angry – express it (read below for some perspective/balance on this), if you’re confused, hurt, freaked out, passionate etc finding an appropriate way to show it can actually add a lot to your blogging.
Perhaps I’m more of an emotionally based person than some but I know that many of the bloggers that I read on a daily basis are those that show their heart a little and are quite transparent about their feelings towards the topics that they write on. On the flip side there’s not much that will turn me off faster than a blog without soul (dry, passionless and one dimensional where it might as well be a machine writing the content).
Balance – Of course on many blogs it is important to keep a balance in how much you share in this way. I’ve seen a number of bloggers over the years destroy their reputations and blogging projects by allowing every post to become very angry or negative (to a destructive point) – however injecting a little feeling into your posts will give readers something to relate to and a hook that will draw them into the conversation and keep coming back for more.
I think the injection of opinions, emotions, and feelings are one of the best ways to make your blog stand out. Simply reporting is too dry and emothion spices it up a bit.
I’m SOOOO glad you wrote this. I like to blog how I talk. I was at times wondering if this was ok to do however i’m glad to see that you’ve enforced what feels natural to me already. You’re blog is great and I appreciate the info!!
I think most people who regularly blog are passionate about many things, especially if they blog in a niche. I think to deny that passion when blogging is in some ways to deny one’s self. If you are not passionate about what you blog about, people are going to notice and not really give you a second thought.
If something makes you angry or excited, expressing that on one’s blog can have a polar effect sometimes. Some people will love that you are passionate and emotional on something while others will be deterred by it. I think that blogging for yourself is almost as important as blogging for your readers. I personally like when bloggers show a human side.
Good advice and something I need to work on more. I need to spend a bit more time on my personal blog and express my thoughts and reveal some tidbits about my life.
http://look-out-hes-loose.blogspot.com/
I love this series because I know there is a balance we should strive to keep — between sharing too much and too little. Thanks for the fodder.
Hi Darren,
The series is great. I personally find a lot of personal blogs more engaging than other less personal blogs.
I feel it’s better to let your culture be your guide. Some cultures are very emotional about some topics. Others aren’t. If we all start faking passionate outpourings on everything, we’ll have a blogosphere of USA-TV-style crocodile tears: how boring would that be?
The purpose of my blog is to inspire the reader. Without a personal connection this simply will not happen.
Great series Darren,
Blogging for me is writing about:
“What inspires me, drives me, gets me excited, gets me furious, makes me cry, makes me laugh?”
And asking:
“What are my passionate about, fearful of, what would I fight for?”
“What will my legacy be?”
Good series, and point #3 resonates with me.
The first time I actually used the word “rant” in a post I looked over my shoulder and out the window to see if anyone was coming to get me.
Biz bloggers may worry about offending their constituents if they take a strong position on some issue.
When I started my biz, I was very conscious of not expressing my political leanings publicly for fear of losing clients over that — to this day my husband (also self-employed) and I do not put political signs in our yard before elections. Since I live in a small and politically conservative community, I feel right about the decision not to offer up my political side to my local clients. And, after all, my blog is NOT a political blog.
Clearly, the blogosphere is far larger than one’s physical community, and besides valuable information, we’re looking for opinions and others’ experience when we participate in the huge conversation that is blogging.
Don’t give me milktoast (or is that milquetoast?) – give me something real and maybe even spicy to chew on!!
Katie Baird
I couldn’t agree with this post more. I really appreciate it when bloggers take the time to share more of their personal thoughts and feelings about a topic, as opposed to just reporting something like the Nightly News or CNN.
I think one of the wonderful things about blogging is the way is facilitates readers to interact more closely with the author. Writing rich content, that makes a point and is emotionaly charged, is a great way to foster a deeper level of connection. And if people dont agree with your perspective…no matter…that’s what comments are for!
[…] How to Give Your Blogging Soul by Using Emotion […]
I have a friend who blogs a lot and blogs with too much emotions LOL and I think he is using it above the average limit getting too emotional and getting carried away with it. Using bad words and even swearing at people.