I have a confession: It’s not easy for me to talk about my blog.
Even after years of blogging, I still have to muster the courage to continue the conversation when the topic of “so, you have a blog?” arises.
I’m certainly not ashamed of my blog. I enjoy blogging about writing, blogging, marketing and social media. I love connecting with my readers and geeking out over my readership analytics.
So why all the embarrassment?
My blog embarrassment stems from a shattering of confidence during a heated workplace discussion.
At a previous place of employment, my supervisor at the time (I had many in a matter of months) decided to schedule a “talk” about my work on the company blog. He started rattling off all the reasons he hated my blog style, my blog headlines, my blog topics and my blog images. He wasn’t even phased when I pulled up analytical proof that all (and only) my blog posts were converting readers into customers.
Swear I’m not bitter.
Then he said this: “Who do you think you are writing with this kind of authority?”
I didn’t miss a beat: “Because you chose me to do so.”
Well, that didn’t sway him. Long story short: I was now to hang my writer hat and become an interviewer that jots down what they say in blog posts like a journalist. And that my job was on the line.
Did I forget to mention that it was my birthday?
Here’s the Best Way to Get Over Your Blog Embarrassment
It takes one instance like this to question your authority in your writing as a blogger, whether it’s for your own blog or on the behalf of a company. And it takes daily reminders about how much you love to blog to keep going.
The best way to get over your blog embarrassment is to focus on the internal and not the external. In other words, you need to care more about your love of blogging more than what your haters might say.
You can’t carry confidence over into your blog if you first are not confident in yourself.
So focus on you. What makes you great? What are your strengths? Why are you friends with you?
Haters will always hate. You can’t control what they think or say or do. All you can control is what you think and say and do.
Once you are confident in yourself, confidence in your blog comes naturally. It’s really that simple.
Not every reader is the right reader for our blog. You’re not writing for them anyways. So it really doesn’t matter what they say about your blog, even if it’s to your face.
The truth is that the negative remarks someone may make about your blog is not a reflection of you or your blog—it’s a reflection of that person. Your blog is simply the medium this person uses in conversation to reflect his or her values, confidence and emotions.
So the next time your blog comes up in conversation, don’t hesitate to talk about it. Your passion about your blog may attract some unexpected readers to your blog posts.
That’s what I plan to do.
How do you get over your blog embarrassment? Share your story in the comments section below.