Professional Development

What I learned from blogging that you can use in “real life”

(Thank you to everyone who participated in The YP Rockstar series, and a special congratulations to Jessica from Thrive Your Tribe, who won the comment contest. I appreciate all of the comments throughout the series; your contributions truly added to the value of the series! For of those of you who didn’t win the contest, but are interested in the awesome prize of a year-long membership in We 4 LIFE, I sincerely encourage you to check it out. It could change your life. Seriously.)

I learned a lot while writing The YP Rockstar series, butI learned the most about blogging. In fact, I learned more about blogging last month than the whole year I blogged prior to it. Here are a few of the things I learned and how it relates to business:

Blogging lesson: A blogging plan is good.

When I first came up with The YP Rockstar idea, I brainstormed the topics I wanted to cover. From there, I drilled down to specific posts. I basically developed a plan of what I wanted to do and the goals I wanted to accomplish. I’d be lying if I said I followed the plan exactly. I didn’t. But, I used the plan as a general direction, and it worked.

Real-life lesson: Set a career direction; a week-long plan.

You’ve heard of the five-year plan, right? Five year plans are bogus. Seriously, if you know what you’ll be doing in five years, you lead a pretty predictable life. Instead of a career plan, set a career direction. Figure out where you want to go, but be open to new possibilities.

Set a plan for your day, your week, maybe even your month. Go ahead and plan your blog. Just not your career.

Blogging lesson: It’s okay to get a little personal.

I admitted in my last post of the series that I get a little freaked out when I add myself into my writing. But, I’ve learned through trial and error that adding in a personal story or two adds interest and value. We learn from each other.

Real-life lesson: Personal stories make you relatable at work.

Just like in blogs, your co-workers and steady clients will appreciate to know a few things about you. Sometimes we get so caught up in being “all business” that we forget that we’re all humans and need to see the more personal side in order to fully relate.

Of course, for many, the problem is just the opposite. You know them — the oversharers. Some offices are more open than others, so it’s up to you to access your company culture to decide if sharing the deets on Saturday’s date is appropriate or not. When in doubt, ask yourself how the story adds to your image.

Blogging lesson: Predicting the success of individual posts is harder than I thought.

Some posts I would expect a huge response and get a trickle.  Others, that I was not expecting much of a response on, got a ton of attention. So, I learned that I have no idea what to expect when I hit publish. And, I’m okay with that. It just makes me try that much harder on every post.

Top five YP Rockstar posts (by number of page views):

1. Three work essentials: Rock, Paper, Scissors
2. I like my lattes thankyouverymuch
3. First Impressions: How to introduce yourself
4. Define yourself, perfect your image
5. How to Rock Your Resume

Real-life lesson: Predicting the future is impossible; but, always doing your best work is not.

You never when something you say or do can get picked up by your boss as the next best thing. That’s why it’s important do your best work everyday. Going in with the intent to do your best on every project — big and small — can make you a real stand out.

Blogging lesson: Links are like gold.

I’ve been blogging for more than a year, and I’ve linked to a lot other blogs during that time. But, the links from The YP Rockstar series seemed supercharged. I ended up building relationships and partnerships with other bloggers — all due to the links. The purpose of the links was to share other resources with my readers; and, in the end, I did that — and made friends. What’s better than that?

Real-life lesson: Relationships are gold.

Business is based on relationships. You go to Starbucks because the barista knows your name. You shop at a certain grocery store because the clerk smiles when she checks you out. You buy products from a certain vendor because you genuinely like him. Without building connections, you’ll have a hard time advancing in business. In blogging relationships can start with a link; in business it can be just as simple. Reach out.

© 2009 Girl Meets Business.