Reblog – Establish Your Own Blogging Voice

Bet you thought you were going to get a “Blogging Truths Be Told” post today. Well, you are. It just looks a little different because I’m bringing back an oldie but goodie. Oldie, because it’s from last year. And goodie, because it’s one of those evergreen pieces of content that will stand the test of time. It was applicable back on May 12, 2020 when I wrote it, and it gets a lifeline today as a reblog.

So yes, you’re getting a “Blogging Truths Be Told” delivered to you, reblog-style.

There’s something to say for reblogs. Once you have enough content on your site, reblogs are fair game. I personally enjoy the fact that I can recycle my content every so often to discuss important topics that need to be brought back to life. And I just happened come across the “Establish Your Own Blogging Voice” post that originally appeared on a Productivity Tuesday back in the day.

Hopefully, you’ll enjoy the message that comes forth from this oldie. It’s a goodie.

_________________________________________________________

Even though I’m close to two years in the world of blogging, I still feel very much like a newbie with so much left to learn. I’m sure I feel this way because blogging is a continuous learning cycle. It’s one of those crafts that’s ever-changing, and this is why no one should be able to say that he or she has arrived to a level where there’s absolutely no more to learn and no more growth needed to fine-tune such a craft.

And, blogging is one of those skills that gets better with age, practice, experience, and the like. I think this is one of the reasons I enjoy it so much. You grow with it. You never get to a level of perfection, but you can improve over time and become pretty good at it.

As a beginning blogger, I was well aware that a learning curve would take place — just like any other skill one takes on. And, I was also aware that, to be any good at it, I would have to make sure and find my own unique blogging (writing) voice.

This fact was something I instinctively knew. Sure, I’ve heard plenty of content creators say this, but I was already enlightened to the fact that I had to be me in anything I pursued. That’s just how I’m wired, and I’m guessing most people are wired that way as well.

But, does our natural makeup (to be ourselves) flee when we get into a situation where we face some uncharted territory and have no compass or map to direct our navigational efforts?

The natural inclination in such cases would be to quickly find some guiding force before we make shipwreck. Sounds reasonable. We need something or someone to direct us through the blogosphere. We need that guide to help us make sense of it all and to place us on a smooth path of growth.

And, there’s no shame in seeking the expertise and guidance of someone who’s been there and done that. I looked to people for help when I first started out and still do. I think that it would be unwise to not do your research. Research is necessary in just about any new venture you take on, and blogging is not the exception. But while you’re doing all this researching on blogging (and specifically on bloggers), just be careful not to become the clone of the person you research. Don’t take on that person’s persona in your writing.

YOUR BLOGGING STYLE IS YOURS TO OWN. IT HAS TO TAKE ON YOUR VOICE.

Do you know why?????

Simply stated, it’s because there’s only one you in the world. And if you’re not going to speak your truth, then it’ll never get spoken. Susie and Jim are already taken and they’re doing their thing, so why not let your voice be heard?

Furthermore, I can only imagine that it would be incredibly exhausting to keep up someone else’s persona in your blogging. There’d be way too much researching of what’s happening in someone else’s world and keeping up with pretenses. And for what, when you can be your authentic self and DO YOU? Seems so much easier, doesn’t it?

I’m going to let you in on a little secret about me, and it might help you in your blogging experience (whether you’re just starting, been blogging for years, or you’re somewhere in between). I decided from the very beginning of my blogging journey to be me, even if others don’t appreciate who I am and how I come across in my writing.

I’m not about to put in the extra work to be someone I’m not in my writing and try to sustain untruths for the stint of my time in the blogosphere. My focus is on propelling my own voice, because that’s who I am. I have no hesitation in learning from the expertise of others, but I can safely glean the knowledge I need from them and apply it for my specific purposes when and where it fits into my narrative.

For me, I have to blog on my own terms. It’s the only way I know to do it. It’s the only way I’m comfortable creating content. And, it’s the only way I will ever be able to maintain and sustain a long-term blogging lifestyle.

Sure, I’m flexible in adapting to the changes that the blogosphere brings on. I’ll have to in order to survive within it, but I don’t have to change my voice to do so. And, here’s what I’d suggest to anyone struggling with establishing their own voice: don’t get wrapped up in closely following bloggers who blog about the same thing you either want to blog about or blog about what you’re currently blogging about. Doing so will make it hard for you to establish your own voice or to keep your own voice once established.

When I first started blogging, I purposely avoided reading a lot of blogs on my exact topics of interest. It was a promise I made to myself until I was satisfied that I’d found my own voice first. I was determined to stay true to myself and make sure that I wasn’t influenced to be someone I’m not in my writing.

And it worked.

I’m confident that what I portray to you is me and nothing but. And “me” is the best  I can do.

Over time, I’ve been able to pick up on more and more bloggers whose content I enjoy — who may discuss similar topics of interest to mine (but in their own unique way). And guess what? I’m not swayed to change my blogging voice because of their blogging genius. I’m too busy working to improve my own genius.

Tip of the Week: It’s perfectly okay to do your blogging research when starting out. Actually, in order to grow, you’ll probably continue to do research all throughout your blogging journey. But when starting out, what helped me most was going out on YouTube and listening to and absorbing information from bloggers talking about their blogging experiences and getting tips and advice from credible sources that way. At the time, I had no idea which bloggers’ blogs to even follow and found it was much easier to search on YouTube for blogging information than to search for bloggers to research and follow. By acquiring knowledge through the YouTube content of bloggers (in the beginning), instead of reading a lot of blogs, I think I was able to learn what I needed to get started in the blogosphere, while avoiding getting stuck in a “copycat” mode. I was able to find my voice.