Weekends like these, I’m reinvigorated.
On Friday night, I met up with some of NEPA’s finest at the bi-annual NEPA Blog Fest. For a recap of the event, you can check out some of these accounts from fellow bloggers:
The evening included lots of handshaking, a few business cards, meeting my face twin (Hi, Leslie!), and a gigantic inflatable pig. There were a few more colorful characters who took part in the evening, but hey, variety is the spice of life. It was good to put faces to URLs and Twitter handles. Plus, it sparked some ideas for an interesting project. Let’s just call it the Fearsome Foursome for now. Stay tuned!
Yesterday was busy. I started out by bowling with some members of the Solid Cactus crew at Bowl for Kids’ Sake. One hundred and twenty three pins later, I raised a little over $125 for Big Brothers Big Sisters. Awesome cause – and so well organized! That event ran like a well-oiled machine and everyone had a great time. I’d do it again in a heartbeat.
Afterwards, I visited my grandparents, went to a retirement party with my Dad for a family friend, and then booked it back to the Electric City for the Scranton Story Slam. It was AMAZING! The stories, the energy…I couldn’t believe how many people came. I’d love the chance to be a storyteller next time around. It looked like so much fun. It also got me thinking about the next Pecha Kucha Night Scranton, which is in its early planning stages at the moment. Hopefully, there’ll be some news on that front soon!
Finally, today is one of those days where I’m flip flopping between productivity and complete bum-hood. I’m wearing comfy clothes and huddling under a blanket as the rain makes those little *tink* *tink* *tink* noises on the metal awning. It’s soothing. In between episodes of Scrubs, I’m getting some work done for the day job. March was a crazy month. I’m looking forward to the (hopefully) less crazy month of April.
This weekend also gave me some time to think about my blog. Over the past few months, I’ve spent some time reading through how-to guides, e-books, and even professional blog reviews to get a better idea of what exactly I should be doing with my blog. My problem seems to be focus. I know how to blog for other people (and do so quite well), but blogging for myself seems to be difficult. What should I write about? Should I stick to one topic? Will anyone read it? Will people LIKE what I have to say/write/post?
I’ve been going through the classic self-doubt and confusion that every writer goes through. It’s that moment where you’re like, “Hey! What am I doing? Really? What am I DOING?”
So, I’m going to start from scratch. Here’s what’s on my mind. I’d love to get your feedback:
- For awhile, my blog has been a blend of personal branding, communications, and then whatever tickles my fancy. So far, it works, but it doesn’t draw a consistent readership or even a consistent amount of engagement. Communication (i.e. PR, marketing, writing, SEO, social media) is what I KNOW and what I do in my day job. I’m passionate about it and I share my knowledge of it on a few other blogs – but should I be sharing it here? Or should this be a place for something else? Maybe another interest?
- I’m not 100% happy with my blog design. I like it but I don’t like it. It could be because I’m just feeling antsy. Maybe a few tweaks and I’ll feel better. Thoughts?
- I’m REALLY comfortable guest blogging. Right now, I’m guest blogging on an internet marketing site, an SEO blog, a personal finance blog, and a few others. That’s working for me because it allows for my scattered brain to indulge in its varied interests. But what do I make THIS blog about? Do I continue tying in what I’m already writing about or do I do something completely new and different? Speaking of which, does this post format work, where I just write about whatever is on my mind at the moment?
All in all, it feels like I’m looking for someone to just say, “Here’s what you should be doing.” Part of me knows that the answer has to come from within myself. It’s my blog and I need to actually like what I write about. But I want to write for me and for YOU.
I’ll think on this for awhile, but I’d love to hear your thoughts.
