Be Yourself
Jan 4th, 2010 by Carlos
When I first started blogging, I wrote the way I thought a personal-finance blogger should write. If that’s what I wanted to call myself, my logic went, then that’s how I should sound.
Right?
Doing anything the way you think it should be done has a fatal flaw: you take yourself out of the equation. It took me a VERY long time to figure this out, but nobody becomes a passionate user of a site because it “sounds” like every other site out there. There has to be something special or unique about it.
Guess what that something is? You!
That’s what makes The Simple Dollar and IWillTeachYouToBeRich so special—Trent and Ramit ooze through in every post. Instead of checking their personality and style at the door, they come full force into every post they write.
And that’s why we all tune in, day in and day out. It’s what makes their sites different than the rest.
I still struggle with this. Should I use the first word that comes to mind or a less vulgar alternative? What I’ve learned is that, if I feel like saying I’m pissed off, there are tons of other people out there that feel the same.
By putting yourself out there in your writing (and anything else too), you’re more likely to make that connection with readers that can take your site from being an also-ran to a must-have destination.
Take Financial Samurai: this guy has been all over the major (and some minor) PF blogs. His comments tell you right away the kind of person he/she is: energetic, outgoing, and loud. Maybe I’m wrong about him, but that’s what I get from his site and his comments.
And you know what? I remember energetic, outgoing, and loud—it stands out. There are tons of other bloggers and commenters out there, and I can’t tell one from the other. But this guy stands out and it’s because he puts himself out there in everything he writes.
You can’t fault a guy for being real.
Some of the other bloggers out there that really stand out for me are Tough Money Love, Ben Casnocha, and Lazy Man and Money. They commit themselves fully to everything they write, and that’s why I enjoy reading their perspective on things.
So next time you’re feeling pissed off, don’t tell them you’re “upset.” Tell them you’re pissed off.
I shall remember that next time! And for the record I think you are being yourself a lot more than you think.
Agree, eventually your true personality will come out either way. Might as well keep it that way from the beginning, that’s why people enjoy reading specific bloggers.
Hey Nut – Thanks for your post! Screw the way a pf blogger “should” write! Whatever way you want to right is the right way, be it pimping products one never uses themself every other post to solicit affiliate revenue, to highlighting interesting personal tidbits, to revealing to the world how rich one is. All is interesting to somebody. And if it’s not, they can go somewhere else!
Will have to tell you though, some of my comments go a little overboard and seem to offend a certain type…. generally the type who takes things a little too seriously, and is perhaps a little insecure. Hence, I need to realize that not everybody is a joker, and some take things much more seriously than I would. Hence, this is a necessary piece of info to know, if I want to appeal to more folks.
BTW, how’s the new job treating you?