I recently did a big purge from my Google Reader. I usually do this once every few months. Not only do I remove subscriptions blogs that no longer seem to be active, I also use the purge as a chance to get rid of blogs that just aren’t producing great content anymore.

There are only so many “Top 5 Tips” I can take. Only so many “Blogging/TV/Newspapers/Social Media is Dead” linkbait posts can cross my stream before I hit the snooze button. But sadly, every time I go through a big RSS purge, there are a lot of blogs I’m eliminating for just those reasons.

More and more, content creators are so caught up in driving traffic, increasing their views, and improving their (gasp) influence, that I think many have lost sight of why they really even started blogging in the first place.

I suppose I could be considered late to the game when it comes to blogging (in comparison to some of the true “old timers” of the online journaling era). I had a false start on this blog in 2006, but then really got into it in early 2007. Like everyone else, I’ve had my share of dry spells. I’ve had times when I’ve gone weeks without a post. I’ve focused on various topics at length, social media, education, video, and so on, and become better known in those spaces; but I’ve never lost sight of one thing – why I do this in the first place.

Sure, I know that blogging often on certain topics can improve my search engine ranking. I know that getting links on others’ blogs helps that too. I respect the fact that what I have done here has opened up new doors and new opportunities for me and my business. These things are all wonderful side effects of blogging. But they are most certainly not my raison d’être.

I have other reasons for being here. First and foremost, it’s because I love to write. I love to spend time in the part of my brain that creates and shapes ideas. I use this space as an outlet for my thoughts, a way to get them straight. And yes, sometimes it’s even therapeutic. The fact that not only can I share what I think, know, and feel here is terrific, but what’s really cool is that people actually read it. And leave comments. I write because I enjoy it, and I keep writing because other people seem to enjoy it too. It’s win-win.

I believe that the people who are most successful with their blogs are the people that create them out of a love for something – a hobby, a profession, or some aspect of their personal life. Some do it for the sheer joy of writing and creation, and that’s great too.

But if you enter the world of blogging just so that you can be read, be popular, or be #1 on Google, you’re doing it for the wrong reasons.

Businesses are feeling pressure to start blogging, and I believe that in many cases, blogging can be extremely beneficial to businesses of all sizes and industries. But just because you’re writing with a business focus does not mean you can’t still write from the heart. It doesn’t mean you can’t post things just for the sheer joy of it, to work through ideas, or even as self-therapy. You could write a blog about the joys of doing theoretical physics, and if you’re writing passionately and honestly, if you can make me CARE about theoretical physics, then I’ll be way more inclined to subscribe to it than a blog about video production that simply posts boring top 5 lists of fancy video effects I can use in my next YouTube video.

Forget about SEO. Forget about backlinks and getting readers and building influence. Make those things come second. Write down a list of the things that get you fired up about your hobby, or your work, or your life. Think about those things, and let those crazy good, excited feelings well up inside you. Then, and only then, start writing.

Want to create great content? Then consistently write from the heart. It might be what makes the difference between whether your blog succeeds or not. It will sure as heck make me stay subscribed.

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My Grade 12 music teacher, Mr. G., believed that everyone has the ability to sing, they just need to find their voice.

And you know what? The same can be said about blogging, podcasting, tweeting, and, well, just about anything to do with communicating online. When we are first starting out around here, we feel silly, shy, and self conscious. We write or record a bunch of things we never post. We are fearful that people are going to make fun of us, disagree with our opinions, and that we’ll never get any better at it. Sometimes we just give up completely, when what we really need to do is just find our voice.

Breathe.
Mr. G. used to tell us that the reason most people can’t sing is because they don’t know how to breathe. I thought that was an odd statement – isn’t breathing a reflex? But it turns out that singing is all about breathing. Mr. G. would demonstrate this by bringing an unsuspecting soul up to the front of the class, then ask them to sing a note that he played on the piano. What often came out was a throaty squeak. Mr. G. would tell them to keep singing the note, then calmly walk over and push on the person’s diaphragm (located right under the ribcage). Suddenly, the squeak became a beautiful, loud, strong note.

He’s right. We don’t know how to breathe. We drag ourselves out of bed in the morning and jump right into our busy schedules. Suddenly it’s noon and we’re working through lunch. By 5 or 6pm we’ve whizzed through it all, and are feeling guilty because we never got time to exercise or write or record our podcast. Days, weeks, months go by and we have achieved nothing – we’re still 20 pounds overweight, and we still aren’t having all those meaningful conversations we thought we could thanks to the Web.

But the simple act of focusing on breathing – in, and out – gives us that moment, where we can stop, and be clear. Make space in your life to breathe. It only takes 10 minutes to write a short post – web videos can take even less time (I can record, edit and post a 2 minute video using my iPhone 4 in 5 minutes, I’ve timed it). Breathing will help take your voice from weak and quiet to strong and loud.

Practice.
Want to know why some bloggers and podcasters seem to be so popular? They practice. They do it really, really often. Some of my favourite bloggers post every single day – sometimes 2 or 3 times a day. I have a podcasting friend who, at one time, was producing 9 podcasts (and has a family, and a full time job).

Of course it takes practice. It took me 4 days to write the first 1,000 words on my blog. Now I can crank out 1,000 words in about 20 minutes. Writing one blog post every 6 weeks is not going to make you any better at it, just like going for a 5 mile run every 6 weeks isn’t going to make you shed those extra pounds.

Practice. Practice. Then practice some more. Write garbage. Record crap. Scrap it and try again. Don’t be perfectly happy with it, and post it anyway. Eventually, you’ll get your feet under you. Eventually, you’ll find your voice. Trust the wise words of Mr. G. Everyone has a voice.

It’s Your Voice.
Now, when Mr. G. wisely said that everyone has the ability to sing, he didn’t exactly mean that everyone is going to open their mouth and be Celine Dion.

Everyone’s voice is unique. That’s what makes it their voice. And one’s voice is always subject to interpretation. It’s why some people think Bob Dylan can’t sing, but why others thing he has a brilliant and interesting sound.

You’re never going to appeal to everyone, so stop trying to. The fact that you may come up against criticism is no reason to not keep breathing, and practicing, and using your voice. Plenty of people don’t care for Bob Dylan’s music. Heck, I don’t like Celine Dion! But that doesn’t stop either of them from using their voices. And fear of criticism should never stop you from using yours either.

Embrace your uniqueness, and continue to use your voice. Make your voice loud, and strong. Sing from your heart, not your throat. Write and speak from the same place.

Those who want to hear you will.

[Photo credit: majicdolphin on Flickr]

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Thursday Bram over at lifehack.org published an interesting post today about Fake Deadlines. It’s all about how to create deadlines for yourself where none exist (eg. a client that says “just get it done whenever!”). I’m sure we all know people who say things like that. It makes it hard to get motivated and easy to procrastinate.

However, I have found a distinct advantage to procrastinating on some things. Case in point:

I have a proposal to write. It’s a pretty good opportunity, and I have already come up with some great ideas for this client. But they haven’t given us a deadline. They just asked for a proposal….”just get it done whenever!”. So, another day goes by and I haven’t started to write the thing yet. I’m not usually a big procrastinator. I’ve been told that procrastination is the direct result of not having enough information. Nope, that’s not it. I have all the information I could possibly need…I have been working with this particular client for years, and I know very well what they need and how they need to do it. So why am I posting on my blog about this, instead of writing the darn proposal?

I’m incubating. Now, Mom, before you go getting all excited about babies and things…it’s not that kind of incubation.

Sometimes in the creative process, I need to let my subconscious work on things for a while. Instead of staring at a blank page of my open document “client_proposal_v1.doc” and wondering where to start, I need to put it aside and do something else. Write on my blog. Text message my hubby. Eat Lunch. Chit chat with my business partner about something completely unrelated to work. Maybe I even need to go home and sleep on it.

Then, when I’m absolutely NOT concentrating on the task at hand, the inspiration will hit. Maybe that’s why so many of our company’s proposals get written at 11pm on a Monday night or 4am on a Saturday morning.

I found myself doing this incubation process so often that now I use it as a technique. If I’m really stumped on how to start something, I put it away. Let it fester in the back regions of my brain for a few hours, or even a few days (sometimes not having a deadline is a blessing in disguise!). Then, when I come back to the project, the words just flow.

Try incubation next time you get stumped on a creative task. You’ll be surprised how doing nothing about it can make for a much better end result.

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