In the movie Anchorman, Will Ferrell’s character, Ron Burgundy, tells his friends, “Veronica and I tried this new fad called, uh, jogging. I believe it’s ‘jogging’— or ‘yogging.’ It might be a soft ‘j.’”
I was almost as ignorant when I launched this blog. Sure, I knew how to pronounce “blogging.” But not much else.
Now, starting my fourth year, I’ve been thinking how blogging changed me in surprising but powerful ways—and how it can change you, too.
1. As you learn to appeal to your readers’ senses and emotions, you draw more people to your content.
Even though I was a copywriter for 17 years before I started blogging, I wrote from a distance. From a place that was not so connected to my heart. (I was writing for businesses, after all.)
But a blog is a different animal. Content is content is content. But if you can’t also impact emotions and feelings, you have a pretty boring blog.
Even if you stray off topic, like when a parent dies, or a daughter has made you proud, you’ll find that your readers can relate. Because they have been there, too.
2. You learn how to listen.
I always thought I was listening before, but thoughtful comments from readers taught me how to lean in close and really understand what my community was saying.
Perhaps it is the immediacy of blogging.
The instant feedback.
I learned how to use my blog as an idea laboratory, even though I sucked at science. And it is that kind of listening that moves a blogger forward, helps her give her readers the things they need to solve their problems.
3. You develop a ‘thicker skin’ (not necessarily a bad thing).
When I was interning for my school principalship and parents started complaining because my classroom—their children— had a substitute teacher every time I was in the principal’s office, I was crushed to the point of tears.
Some of my ‘customers’—the parents of my first graders—were actually unhappy with me? It was the first time.
Ever.
I’ll never forget my supervising principal’s wise words: “Judy, you need to be a duck. Just let that water roll right off you.”
Having a thicker skin doesn’t mean you ignore the critics. It just means that you analyze the negative blog comments and figure out if they make sense.
If they do, make an effort to change. If they don’t, accept the criticism, thank the reader for expressing her feelings and move on.
Yes! Another life lesson!
4. You sharpen your teaching skills.
The parts of blogging that are about teaching? They are the best.
Helping people learn things —and making them laugh—are the reasons I was put on this planet.
And when a reader says, “I tried that strategy. And it worked!”? Well, those are some of the happiest moments of my life.
5. You begin to understand the huge differences between an audience and a community.
An audience listens. A community listens and answers back.
An audience doesn’t feel valued. A community is recognized—and appreciated.
An audience is people reading in a vacuum. A community is an audience, talking to the blogger and—more importantly—to each other.
An audience consumes and leaves. A community hangs around.
6. Your blogging buddies and your blog’s readers are added to your ‘cool people I know’ list.
I have met readers and bloggers from all over the world. And since my goal in third grade was to be an interpreter at the United Nations, well, I’m in heaven.
What a fun and diverse community.
People like Claude Nougat from Claude Nougat- The Blog (currently living in Italy) and Cindy King from the Social Media Examiner Blog (France). Joanna Penn from the Creative Penn Blog (Australia).
Ingrid Aboudd from the nittygriddy blog (Lebanon) and Danny Brown from dannybrown.me and For Bloggers, By Bloggers (Canada).
Brankica Underwood from the Live-Your-Love Blog (born in Bosnia, raised in Serbia) and Tony Hastings from the Top 10 Blog (UK).
And people across the U.S., from California to New York and all parts between.
Sonia Simone from Copyblogger (Colorado). John Haydon from the John Haydon Blog (Massachusetts). Becky McCray from the Small Biz Survival Blog (Oklahoma). Jay Ehret from The Marketing Spot Blog (Texas).
The bloggers from Storyfix, Writer Unboxed, Men with Pens, Make a Living Writing, The Renegade Writer, Word Play, and Courage to Create.
7. You just may be lucky enough to find your life passion.
I jumped into the blogging waters three and a half years ago as author of the Cat’s Eye Marketing blog. But over the last six months, I have come to realize that blogging—and writing, specifically—is what I was meant to do.
And I am making the bold decision to write my first book.
And it is not even about blogging or social media.
But, still, my greatest joy comes in helping people organize their blog content, write better (and with more passion), and discover where exactly blogging will lead them.
I hope you will continue to follow me on this journey. I have many more tips and resources to share with you along the way.
Some of them I’ve saved especially for my community on the Cat’s Eye Writer Facebook page, so if that sounds like something useful, just pop on over and click on the “like” button. I would love that!
(I promise not to bombard you with useless stuff. Just my best thoughts on blogging and writing.)
If you have a blog, what are you learning in your blogging journey?
What have you learned from reading blogs?
Have you met any cool people since you started blogging?
I started blogging last year, but I didn’t invest myself in it fully until this past November. It’s only been in the past few months that I’ve started exploring how to build an online community, and, fortunately, I tapped into a thriving one – I’ve met Gini Dietrich, Danny Brown, Ken Mueller, and Tony Hastings, among others. They have been very kind and helpful as I learn what it means to be a business owner and how to take the next steps in that journey.
I think if I’ve learned anything, it’s that my blog isn’t going to receive much attention if I don’t pay attention to other people’s blogs. I suppose I knew that, but I hadn’t taken action steps that reflected that understanding. When I started commenting on other people’s blogs, I found that they sometimes visited mine and, in some cases, became return visitors.
@Erin F. You have certainly tapped into some of the best blogs out there. I found early on that I learned so much from other bloggers (Sonia Simone is one who stands out- followed her when she was still just author of her Remarkable Communications blog, before she moved over to Copyblogger). And you are so right, they will often reciprocate. And man, did it make my day when they popped over and left a comment on my blog!
I also learned a lot from Danny Brown. (Still do.) : )
Thanks for your thoughtful comment, Erin.
I started reading people’s blogs (and this one in particular several months back) and commenting then began my own blog a couple of months ago. I love reading other people’s blogs and always leave a comment. It can be a time suck but I want to make virtual friends and I think it’s happening. The people who read mine are few but maybe one day there will be more since I’ve only been doing it for two months. I am so grateful for your blogs and helpful hints in this particular post for today. I’m going to look at some of those individuals you mentioned and maybe make some friends outside the U.S. Writing is such a solitary endeavor, but as Kristen Lamb says, “We Are Not Alone.”
Patti
Judy, I just love reading what you write and this post is stellar! I’m a counselor and a writer but not a blogger (yet), so I’m sort of on the fringe of your community, but really what you’re saying is so appropriate for life and relationship not just blogging. I can’t tell you how many people come to me for counseling, and what they are needing to learn is how to be present and connected with other people, really listen, and not take everything so personally. So many people are aching for community, and you’ve written so perceptively out of your own experience how to create that. Thank you so much for all you do. :^)
Yep – the whole community thing – it’s where we always agree (not that we have ever disagreed). The more I learn about developing community – the more i want to learn
Great stuff!
@PatriciaYagerDelagrange You are right about the time suck. What I have done is taken a closer look at what my focus is and started to sort through my blog subscriptions. And as I change, my interests and priorities change. I will be reading more writing blogs in the future because I am working hard on my first book.
Writing IS a solitary endeavor and that is where blogs come is. They build a sense of community. Thanks for all you do to contribute to this community, Patricia. : )
@mdyak You have been a not-quite-blogger for some time now, Miriam. When can I look forward to reading YOUR posts? : )
I appreciate that you have come away with some useful stuff from this blog and also appreciate that the work you do embodies all of the above principles. I have had a few people comment on how building community with a blog has applications to life. Thanks for so eloquently expressing that.
@FrankDickinson I have so enjoyed getting to know you over at For Bloggers, By Bloggers. (Frank still blogs at bestbloggingtipsonline.com and, of course, at frankdickinson.me.) Yes, I agree, it’s the community thing that is so exciting about blogging. And you and I have always been on the same page where that’s concerned. : )
@JudyDunn Thanks Judy!
You loving @livefyre as much as I am?
@PatriciaYagerDelagrange Writing is a solitary endeavor; fortunately, there are quite a few of us writers roaming the wilds. What’s your blog’s address? I’d like to take a look, but I couldn’t find it via your Livefyre profile.
I have been blogging for just over a year but need to learn so much more about it! I really need to hone my writing skills and have the patience to edit, rather than just rushing to get everything ‘out there’. It has taken almost a year to learn a lot of the things that you mention above but as I learn more, I attract more followers and more comments. Very helpful post!
Brilliant post Judy and one that I echo completely. I started out on this blogging road less than 2 years ago as a man in his 50′s who knew his way around a computer but who had no experience, or expectations of blogging, Tweeting or Social Media.
Like you I have found it to be a positive experience stretching me in ways that I could never have imagined and allowing me to achieve things that I could never have expected. And the best part? It has to be connecting with and getting to know so may amazing people from all around the world. (Like you – thanks for including my name in your ‘cool’ people list’)
Blooging has allowed me to broaden my horizons and give me a better understanding of the world around me so it’s a big yes from me to it being surprising and yes to blogging changing my life – definitely for the better
Great blog idea! I’m only a couple months in, so it’s hard for me to comment on most of your points, but #7 definitely resonates. I feel very fortunate.
@Erin F. Hi Erin. My website and blog are: http://www.patriciayagerdelagrange.com
@FrankDickinson@livefyre I am definitely staying with livefyre. I am working on an update post for Thursday to let my readers know about SocialSynch (don’t you just love it?) , additions like link to last post, etc. I think it will take away some concerns a few of my readers had. And when the ability to sign in as a guest goes live, that will take care of the last issue some of my readers had trouble with.
@fsmum My first year was really a year of learning. But I also discovered that writing from the heart, with just minor edits for clarity, was the best way to find my voice. Overanalyzing, which comes easy for me, definitely is not the way to go in blogging (at least for me). Hope you stick around and join the conversations here. There are some very good, generous people who offer all kinds of good ideas. Thanks for sharing your thoughts here.
@JudyDunn@livefyre I look forward to the post! I am thrilled with the way livefyre responds to customers needs and desires – that’s half the battle with commenting systems.
@TonyH You are a prime example of just how powerful blogging can be. I love it that you came from zero experience and have now built up a blog and a readership that others are taking notice of. And boy, did you hit one out of the park with your guest post on my blog. : )
I am sure it happened with you, too, but aren’t you grateful for the bloggers who gave you that first chance? I am amazed that someone like Danny Brown would notice me and give me an opportunity to contribute.
I for sure want to do my part to mentor new bloggers. : )
@Ruthfmc You are at a perfect stage to be absorbing ideas, reading other blogs and thinking more about your specific focus. I did that for several months before I felt comfortable enough to leave a comment. And, yes, for me, #7 was the most powerful discovery of all. Hope to see you here again. : )
@PatriciaYagerDelagrange@Erin F. Didn’t know if you knew this but now, if you have a livefyre account (it’s free), a live link to your latest post will show below each comment you make. (Just like Comment Luv). I’ll be writing a post on Thursday to update readers on all the cool new features. : )
@JudyDunn@PatriciaYagerDelagrange I do know about the feature, but there’s some sort of bug with my site that affects it. One day, my most recent post shows; the next, it’s some post from last November. I turned it off for that reason. I hope I’ll be able to use the feature once my site has been redesigned. =)
@PatriciaYagerDelagrange I shall have to go for a visit later today. Thanks, Patti!
@JudyDunn Absolutely Judy! I think it’s really vital that we remember to support people who are just getting going either with information and help or by giving them opportunities to show what they can do. I am just as happy to have a guest with a few hundred Twitter followers as someone with many thousands. it should be about the talents that they have to offer not who they are
Judy, I’m not a regular commenter, but I am a regular reader. I love your blog and I appreciate all of your helpful tips.
I too love blogging. I am an english literature major who never thought I’d use my degree. I do now with blogging and my business etiquette column in the Puget Sound Business Journal.
I love writing, I love sharing my stories and hearing from others. It is gratifying hearing from others that my posts were helpful or thought provoking. I love it when I get differing opinions on my posts.
Good for you for writing a book. I can’t wait to hear more about it.
@ArdenClise I’m honored that you are a part of this community. I WISH I had majored in English in college! Had a professor who took me aside and told me I should consider changing my major, but, no, I wanted my world languages. A lot of good THEY did me. ; )
But I guess I could say that they helped when I toured French-speaking West Africa as manager of Writing Services for World Vision.
You have a column in the Puget Sound Business Journal? How cool is that!
I am so excited about my first book, I can hardly contain myself. Better late than never to find my true passion, right?
@TonyH What you are saying here is so important. My very first guest blogger (before you) doesn’t have a lot of Twitter followers or Facebook friends or blog readers (yet) but she had some really important things to say. So much fun to give people like that a platform. : )
@JudyDunn I don’t know, I think world languages is a very interesting major and you found it useful. How exciting you worked in West Africa!
Yes, I write a regular business etiquette column for the PSBJ. It’s fun.
Wow. What am I learning in my blogging journey? You have so eloquently covered all the points (esp the community one that was like a blinding flash of tthe obvious when you put it that way). So lets see… for me, to stretch into all the places in myself that I was never quite comfortable enough to venture into before. To test myself. Lessons from reading blogs – that everyones bliss is different and even comes in different shades within the one colour; and to not compare myself. Comparisons are useless when we’re each following our own passion. Bit like trying to match an apple with a pear.
@Di Mace | Word Swords I like the metaphor you used in relation to the comparison issue. It’s good to learn that. You have to have your own voice. You can’t borrow somebody else’s.
@Di Mace | Word Swords You have added so much to the conversation here. I love for first “learning”: stretching yourself and getting out of your comfort zone. (I WISH I had thought of that one.) if I ever republish this, I’ll include that lesson, with full attribution to you. : )
And not comparing ourselves to others? That was a hard one for me to learn, too. I think in the beginning, a little bit of other bloggers’ voices came out in my posts. I was trying on different writing styles and figuring out who I was. Happens to all of us, I think. But if we are connected to our inner selves and write from the heart, eventually our own distinctive voice will emerge.
These are really excellent points. Thanks for the thoughtful reply.
Love the thicker skin example, Judy. It’s tough seeing something you’ve brought to life being criticized, and having your labour of love blog post receive negative comments can hurt.
BUT…
That’s the point! Once we share something in public, it’s no longer uniquely ours, and we need to accept that. I’ve always said if you can’t stand the heat, don’t be a blogger. There are far safer things to do – like lion taming, for instance.
Happy Fourth!
@DannyBrown On your second point, this is why I uncopyright content on my blog.
@DannyBrown I think you and I share similar ideas about content and authorial rights. You’re also right about the blogging/writing life. It isn’t for the faint of heart, but it may be for the lion-hearted…
@DannyBrown Yes, the thicker skin. I have really grown in that area, especially in realtionship to comments (I don’t get a lot of negative ones anyway…guess that comes more with fame.) : )
But what still stings a little, I’ll have to admit, is when a blogger puts me into a certain category of blogger (defined by success) and then rips me apart with stereotypes that don’t even fit me. Thick skin, I tell myself. Thick skin!
“If you can’t stand the heat…” is a perfect quote. Didn’t know that you had studied the U.S. presidents. : )
And happy fourth? Is Canadian Independence Day coming up? I’m so bad at keeping track of other countries’ holidays.
@Ari Herzog@DannyBrown Ari, curious. Do you allow people to republish your stuff without attribution to you as the author?
@JudyDunn If you read http://ariherzog.com/steal-this-blog/ you can better understand my perspective and blog policy. I don’t care if someone attributes me or not; I would prefer it, but I don’t require it. @DannyBrown
@Ari Herzog@DannyBrown Thanks for the link, Ari. Will be interested in hearing your thoughts on this. (Constantly revisiting this issue.)
@Erin F.@PatriciaYagerDelagrange Erin, we have had the same problem with one of our other blogs. Livefyre has one of their engineers looking into this issue for us.
They asked for a link to your comment about this so we sent along the URL for this post, too. We’ll let you know what we/they find out. : )
@JudyDunn@Ari Herzog Yes, I have my blog under a Canadian Creative Commons attribution:
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.5/ca/
I have certain “mandates” in there, but the way I look at it, you;re (unfortunately) never going to stop theft if someone wants something. So I’ll take away a bit of that power by letting people use it instead.
@JudyDunn Ha, I was referring to your 4th year, miss.
@DannyBrown I can be so dense sometimes. I thought you were mixing up our 4th of July with our Labor Day holiday, which is this weekend. I guess my mind is already on holiday. : )
@Ari Herzog Thought-provoking post there and nice link to Leo’s thinking on this. You know, this is such a complicated issue, at least for me. i see some drawbacks in situations where:
1. Your blog is your business. Mine was for a few years (wrote about blogging and provided blog critiques and coaching for clients, all in that central spot, on my blog). So the content I was using to generate leads was being used without my permission and without any atribution to me.
2. Your professional reputation is being damaged. My entire site was ripped off when I left Typepad. Because they kept my name on it (were obviously using this established blog to take advantage of the traffic) AND they attached spammy hyperlinks to the keywords that took people to ads. Not the way I roll. And damaging to my reputation and brand.
3. Someone is making money off your content. Related to #2 above, I don’t work as hard as I do to have poachers come in and profit in a monetary sense from my content.
There may be other issues, but for me, these are 3 of the big ones. I totally respect other bloggers and the decisions they make about this. I just think everyone’s situation might be a little different. Thanks for enlightening me today, Ari. : )
@JudyDunn Wow! Thank you. I don’t know why I didn’t think to contact Livefyre. They have great customer service.
Hey Judy – absolutely loved reading this.
Because I am flat out at work (As teacher in a dayjob), it took me a while to respond. I had actually put this on my list of ‘go back to comment’. I am glad I took time to read it properly – my favourite part is where you talk about creating a community. I love visiting blogs where there is a thriving one and because I am newish at this – I am just having so much fun getting to know people that I am liking.
We have so much in common. Sensibilities aside, we both love learning, writing, teaching and helping people when we can. I am glad to be a part of yours.
Psst — I have been working on a memoir myself – so there you go, yet another reason to hang out together. Cheers 
@JudyDunn
Judy, you know forever I was so depressed in my writing because I thought it was not good enough. I mean, you can’t help but compare yourself to others. There is a totally-confident, in-your-face writing style of ‘most’ marketing blogs, then there is a specific meditative, zen-like writing of inspirational bloggers. Then there is print worthy writing one has the pleasure of reading in many writing blogs. Hello – I can’t compete with that. Where do I fit in? Well, I just have to be me. Colloquial, friendly, helpful, quirky and occasionally funny (I try). Looks like, people are liking it too. Plus a writer’s voice is so much more than the style; its their wordly views, use of language, personality and different personas they put on when they are writing a specific post. I enjoy people’s ideas more than the words they actually use to pen them – words alone can be boring and pretentious, ideas make them come alive. Great discussion happening here guys.
I get what you are saying here, Marya. Intersting your comparison of marketing blogs and “inspirational” blogs. I think that if you can combine those two, you are onto something powerful. And I think you are wise to consider voice. Because, in all kinds of writing (except perhaps writer user manuals for the tech industry, or medical reports), voice is what sets you apart. And agent I’ve been reading in preparation for sending out the book proposal for my memoir, goes so far as to say that voice is the most important, make-or-break trait of a memoir. I think it’s true in blogging, too. I’ve read your stuff and I think you are doing a fine job. : )
A teacher? For some reason I thought you were an attorney. My bad.
Thank you so much for being a part of the CatsEyeWriter community. And, yes, we DO have a lot in common. Looking forward to getting to know you better. : )
@JudyDunn
Judy I am a qualified lawyer but I left law when I had my first child. I then ended up staying home for 7 years and never went back. I did my teaching degree and now I am a teacher, and a blogger – I am absolutely having a blast too.
I really like this post and I totally agree with you. Blogging not only changed my life with the things you say above but also with my English writing because I’m Dutch so it really helped me. I’m looking forward to your next post.
@b.nijhoff I so admire people who take on the challenge of a new language and master speaking and writing. Blogging most certainly helped you with that. Thanks for joining us here and please do come back again.
Great post. Blogging has brough so much joy to my life. It’s allowed me to express creativity, learn and document. I love it!
@casiestewart Thanks for reading. Great benefits you’ve expressed here.
Thanks for the great article. You have a well written and informative blog especially for us.
Hey Judy I really love that your headline made me click the link. Good content especially for begginer bloggers like me who just started with his own blog. Thanks for sharing!
@3dmodelsart Thanks for visiting. Glad you found this useful. Please do come back again. (Or better yet, click on that “subscribe” button!)
@3dmodelsart Thanks. Glad you found it useful. Please visit again. (Or better yet, click on the “subscribe” button!) : )
“If you have a blog, what are you learning in your blogging journey?”
I need to learn how to write better. Still lots to learn. Now focussing on editing. Erasing words, find synonyms to not overuse words, and only then push the publish button. No more bombastic posts where you can erase half of the words because of not needed to tell the story. No more big words and superlatives, just clear and simple language.
English grammar and spelling are on the list aswell but I find it better to do things step by step.
“What have you learned from reading blogs?”
What I have written above, use clear and simple language.
I had a long list of blogs about writing, I narrowed it down to five, in my eyes, top blogs about writting. This blog never got in danger of being deleted of the list because of the fact that you use clear and simple language. A non english native speaking person doesn’t have to bury himself in a dictionary to understand your words and points.
“If you have a blog, what are you learning in your blogging journey?”
I need to learn how to write better. Still lots to learn. Now focussing on editing. Erasing words, find synonyms to not overuse words, and only then push the publish button. No more bombastic posts where you can erase half of the words because of not needed to tell the story. No more big words and superlatives, just clear and simple language.
English grammar and spelling are on the list aswell but I find it better to do things step by step.
“What have you learned from reading blogs?”
What I have written above, use clear and simple language.
I had a long list of blogs about writing, I narrowed it down to five, in my eyes, top blogs about writting. This blog never got in danger of being deleted of the list because of the fact that you use clear and simple language. A non english native speaking person doesn’t have to bury himself in a dictionary to understand your words and points.
To conclude, blogging is like real life. Be clear in what you say and simple on how you bring your opinion to others and people lissen to you.
@logiske Thanks you for sharing these words. They mean a lot to me. I, too, over the years, had to learn that “clear and simple,” as you say, is the best kind of writing. Having been a teacher, teaching the basics of language to kids, I had to model that. (Also, for three years, I taught English to immigrant children from Viet Nam, Thailand, Mexico what used to be the Soviet Union, and other countries. That was such a great experience for me—and I learned so much.)
I don’t know when you started learning English, but I can say that you are doing very well. I can see that you have a heart for learning. That is the key to getting really good, I think. That, and the practice. (That is the same for every writer and blogger.) I wish you the best and I have a feeling you are going to get there. : )
Love this post. Love your blog. Love the fact that you were a teacher and principal and bring and share all that rich rich life experience to your writing. Thanks! Will be returning for more laughs, perspective, and writing wisdom.
Thank you for that, Lucy! I look forward to getting to know you better. : )
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