Your blog voice is not hiding and you don’t need to find it. You only have one voice, though it may have different tones at times. Some people reserve formality for talking to clients, partners, et cetera and then go wild on their blog and on Facebook. Some keep it kosher all the time and some never censor anything. Bottom-line: you should blog like you talk and you should write about what you talk about. That’s the only way your blog is going to sound like you. You should probably leave out f-bombs and bad grammar, for the most part, but otherwise, have at it.
Photo Credit: Jim Herrington (flickr)
Standing Out in a Crowded Industry: Real Estate Blogs
If you’ve seen one real estate blog you have seen 10,000. The challenge here is to use your personality to connect so that you are not forgotten. Writing on a personal level will help with that.
As a real estate agent, you won’t sell your services by talking about every detail of every house up for sale right now. Instead, try asking a question to demonstrate your personality and sense of the housing economy, like The Phoenix Real Estate Guy. Put your listings in the sidebar, and put yourself in the posts.
One to watch: Jessica Riffle. Check out her video on renting vs. buying and why her approach is unique. She records while she drives, which is nuts, but it’s definitely different and she is making it her signature thing.
Figuring Out What to Say: Review Blogs
Whether you are reviewing books or beauty products, it can be tough to figure out what to say all the time. Your goal is to establish some authority in that area so that people believe what you are telling them. Ultimately, you want them to come back to you to learn about (and probably buy) the next thing you review.
Write your review with confidence, informality and believability. Speak from personal experience (and according to new FTC guidelines, you are required to speak from personal experience if you make a commission from your review). In fact, you’ll connect with your readers more easily if you communicate in your natural tone.
Gain trust by leaving no traces of posturing. This is especially true for those of you who are dependent on commissions from sales generated through your blog. If you are writing your own review content, make it yours. Just be real.
Determining How Often to Post: Keeping up with the Jones’
Every blogger struggles with this question: how often do I need to blog? You could create a challenge, such as challenging yourself to write so many posts in a given period. Or, you could write as you feel moved. Either way, keep up with your crowd. Some popular bloggers are blogging at least 5 times per week. A few, more. Most, fewer. The best way to figure this out is to set up Google Reader and put at least 15-20 of the best bloggers in your niche or industry in it. Check it out every day. See how often the blogs are updated. Try to keep up with that.
If you are afraid that you won’t have enough to talk about, read more blogs. Eventually, ideas will pop into your head and you will find yourself really inspired to post something. Something I recently started doing: browsing flickr. Just search for keywords related to your niche. There’s something about looking at a picture that is very inspiring. You’ll also find great photos for your posts (always give photo credits).
Feeling liberated? You should!
You could read here about how I felt about blogging because of the pressure and formality of it all, but just fast-forward through the posts to today to see that once you decide what you want to write about and make a commitment to being yourself, it starts getting easier. 
About Tia Peterson
