It seems that every business leader has a blog these days. If you don’t, should you? It might surprise you to know that the answer is not always yes. Before starting a blog, think carefully about why you are doing it.
The purpose behind blogging should be much bigger than simply sharing ideas. It should be part of a mission you are passionate about. Without a mission, blogging becomes drudgery (both to write and to read).
If you have your eye on a goal , blogging can be part of executing that goal. When this happens, you won’t just be cranking out blog posts. You will be working toward your mission.
Find Your Purpose
In the same vein, blogging cannot be about just making money for your business. The concept is similar to eating. We wouldn’t say the goal of life is to eat. We need food to live, but that is not our purpose, so find your purpose. If blogging is part of how you accomplish that purpose, then that’s why you should blog.
Here are some other reasons to blog:
1. Create Clarity
One of the greatest benefits blogging has brought me is developing clarity in my own thinking around a topic. As I write, I understand better what I think about an issue that has been on my mind.
It’s also helpful when others use the comments to chime in on the post with different points of view. These readers bring perspective I might have never considered.
2. Ignite Change
Putting your ideas out there can ignite change in others—as I have found blogging has changed me.
When I first started blogging, it was more about sharing a point of view and starting a discussion on a topic. Over time, I have come to realize that blogging changes me, the writer. I become a better listener, a better thinker, and (hopefully) a better writer. That, in itself, is a great reason to blog.
3. Develop New Relationships
Relationships are one of the most important aspects of life, whether in business or your personal life. Blogging allows us to meet and talk with a variety of people we might never have met otherwise. Best yet, it gives us the opportunity to contribute to other people’s lives and help them accomplish their goals, as well.
4. Recognize What Is Important
Blogging helps us understand not only what is important in the print business, but in life. I cannot write about everything, so forcing myself to focus on a single topic each time helps me to see what is most important to me.
5. Contribute to Others
At the end of our lives, we will look back and ask ourselves whether we have made a contribution to the world around us. We will want to be able to say we have made a difference. If you can do that through blogging, that’s a compelling reason to do it.
Blogging about the print and promotional product industry can make a contribution and enrich the lives of others around us. So should you start (or contribute to) a blog? That depends. What’s your vision?
