Curing the fear of blogging: The Tug-O-War

June 29, 1:44 PMSF Boomers ExaminerSuzanna Stinnett

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Most new bloggers (and not-so-new ones, too) experience the emotional ups and downs of this process. It goes something like this:

At first, it’s difficult to trust that you have something of value to write on a blog:
“Who cares what I have to say?”

Next, there may be some fear of the exposure of publishing online:
“How many people are looking at this? Is my mother reading it?”

Once you’ve written something, you might have some pride in your accomplishment. Then, the question may change to:
“Will anyone ever see my work?”

And then a different fear, with the prospect of eyes on your work:
“Am I going to be judged for my skill or my opinion?”

Finally, with a bit of work out there, most of us experience the fear of becoming popular:
“I don’t want to be overwhelmed with responses. How would I handle that?”

I have to chuckle at myself when I realize I’m chasing my tail this way.

There’s a cure for all that, and here it is:

Focus on helping others.

Help others who are looking for the information you have – and help others who are far up the blogging highway by sharing their writing with your own audience, how ever small.

When you focus on how you can help, most of the conflicted fears calm down. Your focus gives you momentum. When people start to respond, again, you are guided by how you can help. You protect your audience by removing comments which are spammy or inappropriate, and by responding to your commenters with gratitude and insight.

When you focus on helping, others will want to help you. This is how you include yourself in “The Conversation.”

Ask yourself this one question: “What is the best way I can help the most people, right now?”

Tell me in the comments: How do you balance your fears and still get your work done?

Cheers,

Suzanna Stinnett

Follow me on Twitter: Brainmaker