On 2 May 2010, I hit publish on my first blog post. It was my first blog, Transcending, the forerunner to Quiet Writing and integrated within it. I’d been enjoying and studying other bloggers. I was drawn to writing and publishing my own blog as a way of finding my voice and sharing my story.
It felt very scary to push publish on that first Welcome post. I described the feeling in this post:
I’m ready. That day feels like a threshold, stepping into something so wide open My voice, suddenly reaching out beyond the room, beyond the page, beyond paper and pen to I don’t know where.
I learnt so much that day. That not everybody is watching. It’s not as vulnerable as you think. There’s power in the gathering of words and ideas, of images and curating yourself in this way.
And I’ve learnt through the 10 years that my blog is a guide and witness to my emerging journey and transition to deeper creativity.
So here are 10 blogging secrets encapsulating what I’ve learnt from 10 years of blogging!
1. Not everyone is watching or caring
Especially in the early stages, you think everyone is watching and everyone will see what you are writing. You think they will all be judging you especially if they are from another part of your life. One where they don’t see this side of you, like work colleagues or family.
The truth is you are more likely to find yourself howling in the wind with very few people reading initially. It’s not as vulnerable as you might think.
2. Harness the value of howling into the wind
You write as if your life depends on it but laugh to yourself at the fact that virtually no one is reading.
The value of howling into the wind
Yep, that’s the irony of it all. So concentrate on the value of the howling:
Perhaps hearing your own voice reflected back in the waves of air. Perhaps knowing that just sending out these words and images into the atmosphere might lead to something larger like a future you have dreamed about. Perhaps it is about hoping you can in some way impact positively on others as others have impacted on you.
Thinking beyond yourself and your own writing to the impact you can have on others is a powerful place to focus.
3. Know it’s a fantastic way to work out what you want to say
If not for blogging, there is so much I would never have worked out. We can write for ourselves but writing for an audience, shaping our thoughts for others, takes us to another level. As with any writing, we discover what we want to say as we write.
I didn’t know exactly what these insights on blogging from 10 years’ experience would be until I started writing. Of course, I had an inkling and a few ideas to start with. But the act of writing this post gives form and shape to the learning from 10 years of blogging.
Crafting these thoughts and remembering the feelings is a powerful way to tap into what’s important about blogging. Sharing this with you helps us both celebrate the power of writing and not feel so alone. And hopefully, these blogging secrets and insider tips from 10 years will inspire you on your blogging journey!
4. Our core themes are often surprisingly consistent
It’s amazing looking back at my first words on Transcending 10 years ago:
‘Transcending’ is an exploration of the ways that we rise, overcome, climb across and pass beyond.
It celebrates the extraordinary power of the ordinary self in creativity, writing, in love, in the workplace and in our family contexts, such as our family history and what it means…
Join me in this journey as it unfolds. Some of the areas I hope to explore are:
- writing as a way of transcending and moving through
- my own creative journey as a writer
- poetry and the shapes and structures we find to manage our emotions
- music and images as vehicles for experiencing and managing feelings
- family history and its stories of how we connect and experience life
- constructive leadership behaviours and strategies
- reading and reflections on transcending
- connections with other writers and thinkers on this theme in all its guises
What is fascinating is that not so much has changed. The key themes are there. Transcending has become more about transitions. Creativity, reading, writing, leadership (self-leadership), personal journeys and resilience are all there.
Blogging teaches us that our key themes and body of work might find new guises but are remarkably consistent over time. That’s because a blog is a curation of ourselves, a constellation of our passions and desires. The threads weaving through will inevitably be familiar as we search in more and deeper ways for meaning and purpose.
5. It’s the best way I know for hearing your own voice
I have heard my own voice in clearer ways here on Quiet Writing and on Transcending than I have anywhere else. I know the voice of my Morning Pages and the voice of my social media presence. But when I hit my stride here on the blog especially when writing about intuition, writing, books and the passions over my lifetime, I hear my voice sing.
Having an audience and a loyal community of readers who value how I write and what I write about helps immensely. Thank you so much to you precious people! The formatting in WordPress – the structure, the typing, the neat paragraphs helps my personality find comfort and familiarity in this safe space I’ve carved online.
More than anything, it’s the showing up post by post, week by week, month by year, year by year that helps me hear and shape my voice and work out what I really want to say and how.
6. Consistency helps, blogging always welcomes us
I have made great progress at times when I’ve blogged consistently, showing up, breaking through barriers, tuning into my themes and audience. Then there were really tough times in my life when writing consistently was too hard. I didn’t feel whole enough to shape the words or share them for whatever reason.
My blogging practice was born of grief following the death of my brother in 2007 and my father soon after in 2009. Blogging helped me work through this grief and seek more creative ways of living and working. But in trying to make the shift to a self-sustaining creative life and still fit my work-life in, work sometimes took over. I just couldn’t surface from it or carve out enough space and time.
I’ve learnt that blogging always invites us back when we are ready. And the art of blogging helps to invite more space and time for creativity within ourselves. Like a mirror, it helps us see where our lives have become too busy, where creativity could be a welcome addition. That eventual return to blogging can be like a homecoming and our blog waits, welcoming us with open arms when we return.
7. Blogging is not for everyone
Through my coaching work, I have learnt that surprisingly, blogging is not for everyone. Clients have started out with coaching goals around blogging only to find that the best outcome was not to blog. What? I am so passionate about blogging, I find it hard to believe. But we are all different people with our own personality preferences and likes and dislikes. And it’s perfectly fine if blogging is not for you now or any time.
Blogging takes time and commitment and the return on the investment of your time is not always immediate. So consider whether you need a blog. It’s a form of content to help people connect with you and your work. But there are other ways to do this such as micro-blogging on social media, vlogging (video logging), using IG Stories/IGTV, Facebook Live and podcasting. It’s not an either/or. Consider what works best for you and your preferred ways of creating content and connecting. Think too of what skills you want to grow.
I encourage you though to keep your mind and heart open to see if blogging is for you. Try it and see what it turns up for you. Think about what you are expecting from blogging and if the return on investment over the long term might very well be worth the while.
8. Working out your blogging content pillars helps immensely
One of the biggest challenges with blogging is knowing what to write about and coming up with content ideas. The best way I have found to keep inspired and organised is to work out your blogging content pillars. These are the 6-8 content pillars for your business or creative focus that can also function as blog categories and your social media content focus. This gives you consistency across your life, business and creative profile.
Then write key blog content pillar articles or cornerstone blog posts that define your business, skills and focus. See Yaro Starak’s free Blog Profits Blueprint for further tips on this.
This is an ongoing journey. In my year of Consolidating, I am currently realigning what I write about to my categories and pillars. I know this structure will help me. I’m working on a content bank in Trello so I always have a list of ideas ready and blog posts in various stages of development. That way, I can keep blogging with enjoyment, purpose and ease and see where it fits with my overall creative and business life.
9. Stretch yourself by guest blogging for others and inviting people to guest blog for you
You can do more than just blog for yourself on your own platform. Going beyond this helps you grow as a writer, build your networks and community and connect with others.
Guest blogging for others is a fantastic way to stretch your writing wings and share your expertise. It’s something I’ve focused on to grow my blogging skills. You can find links to the guest posts I’ve written for others in my featured writing. Here are some examples:
Self-Isolation Is A Challenge For All Of Us. Yes, Even Introverts.
How to be inclusive of introverts and extraverts in recruitment practices
Extraverted Intuition – Imagining the Possibilities
Each of these guest posts made me step up in new ways to my writing, share my knowledge and expertise and reach new audiences as well.
I also chose to open Quiet Writing up to guest posts on Stories of Wholehearted Living. It was time to hear voices and experiences other than my own. Gathering stories from women about their journey to more wholehearted living has been one of the most exciting aspects of ten years of blogging.
These wonderful women generously shared their stories with the Quiet Writing community. Working with each of these writers to craft, shape and edit their story in a blog format, I imparted my encouragement, wisdom and experience along the way. The Wholehearted Stories authors also imparted their encouragement, wisdom and experience for the benefit of us all. You too can guest post on Quiet Writing and share your story – the invitation is open to you here.
10. Investigate Voice First ways of working
The last of my blogging secrets and tips points towards the future and opening up easier ways of working. You can write by using your voice first. For example, you can speak into your phone and convert it to text via the built-in microphone or use an app like Google Keep. A Dictaphone linked to Dragon software is another option. If you are a person who finds it easier to talk than write, this might be for you. It’s also a skill worth developing to save time and wear and tear on the body.
Moreover, this is the way of the future. With more voice-activated search technologies now available, it is a way for people to find your work. It also makes it more accessible for people who choose to listen rather than to read and for those with visual impairment. Learn more about voice first in this Creative Penn podcast. For so many reasons, it’s a goal for Quiet Writing to be more voice first, making audio versions of blog posts and more. You can check out my Create Your Story Podcast and also the audiobook of Wholehearted: Self-leadership for women in transition.
Next steps + further reading
So I hope that you enjoyed my blogging secrets from 10 years of blogging. It’s been an amazing ride and blogging has given me so much. I hope that you can also invest time and energy in blogging to enjoy its rich rewards.
And here are a few more posts on blogging from the 10 year history of Transcending and Quiet Writing:
Making blogging easier: a note to self
Writing my first blog post – my recollections
How to write a blog post when you have almost no time
Practical tools to increase writing productivity
