Don’t worry about being interesting.
“But I don’t do that much interesting stuff, how could I blog every day?”
Good question…except that you’re kinda missing the point. If you, Dear Reader, are trying to construct a useful social media presence that helps you articulate and then achieve your (professional) goals, before you take flight into society’s daily ether of people looking for a reason to be outraged dialog, I’d suggest that this is an excellent time to stop, look and listen. Before you unveil your blog, Tumblr or Twitter account, take some time to create a Content Folder. (Try not to vomit. This is a real thing. I’ve used one myself to years, and I’ve helped many clients get their minds right, using these Folders.)
You can either waste your (precious) time worrying about doing something interesting every day–which sounds suspiciously, to my ears at least, that you’re really concerned as to whether or not you are interesting, whether or not you are worthy of achieving your goals–or you can create a Content Folder, and use your time purposefully to create ideas arising out of your interests and ambitions, and crucially, those of your ideal audience.
You don’t have to become the most fascinating person ever to create a valid, functioning and relevant social media presence, but you do have to put in the time to understand who your audience is, what they’re interested in, and why you are worth their time. What kind of new ideas and information are you going to give them? How are you going to connect with your audience? Part of your thinking about how to keep community returning to your online presence, is understanding why you keep coming back.
If you’re starting a blog, for example, to construct an online presence as a writer, or artist, or Russian lit expert, before you get bent out of shape crafting the coolest logo ever, make the decision that you’re going to post every Wednesday and Saturday, for example, at the same time. Then, get out your calendar, and count off exactly how many days of content you’d have to fill, and start brainstorming ideas.
Don’t worry about having the most compelling ideas, just allow your brain to work. You don’t have to perfect, you don’t constantly have to reinvent the wheel, because the more you do, the more you’ll be able to do. Your ideas, plus the time taken to bring them to life, will improve your “voice,” giving you more confidence, thus leading to more ideas.
Because once you’ve taken the time to identify specific dates, and times to post, and made even rough notes…well here you are taking your ambitions seriously. Here you are bringing your goals to life. Here are you not making excuses for not blogging or posting by saying,”…oh well, I didn’t have anything to say anyway.” That content folder will become your BFF when you have a day wherein content is due, but you have nothing to say. That’s the day you’ll find yourself rummaging around in your folder and see that note about that great book you read, or movie you saw, or the fact that today is the birthday of someone who has always inspired you…and bingo, you’re right back in business.
That attitude, that determination to not give up, is the difference between successful people, and people who want to be successful. Successful people understand that first and foremost, they blog for themselves. They blog to keep their spirits up, to keep their dreams moving forward, and they know that if they stop, it only gets harder to start again. I know so many people who started blogging with huge dreams and for a month, or even two, they were at it like gangbusters…and then one day…crickets. The muse had fallen silent. So, they took a break. And a week became two weeks became 8 weeks and suddenly it was 6 months since they had last blogged, and they were horrified. And, being frustrated with themselves, they chuck their dreams in the toilet, saying, “Well, whatever, it was just a blog, who cares?”
You should care. Blogging, or posting on Tumblr, or Twitter, or whatever day, after day, is indeed, damn hard work…but not as hard as giving up on your dreams. I’m not writing this to shame anyone—that’s cruel and tedious—but to remind you that if you want to change your life, you have to understand your life. Understand your choices in order to make better ones. Start with the ideas you have to create the interesting ones you need. #gettowork
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