“How Blogging Changed One Woman’s Life (and Mine, Too)” plus 1 more

How Blogging Changed One Woman’s Life (and Mine, Too)

Posted: 05 Aug 2012 01:04 PM PDT

This is a guest post from Jeff Goins from goinswriter.com.

Years ago, I blogged about a woman who was going to be evicted from her apartment. I met her while I was volunteering with a local charity one random Saturday afternoon.

Her name was Pat, and she spoke with a thick Bostonian accent and had a strong smoker’s cough. Her apartment was covered in newspapers, and she had a couple of dogs whom she loved dearly.

Pat told me if she didn’t pay her rent in a week, she’d lose her apartment and end up back on the streets. Apparently, she had been homeless before.

I didn’t know what to do. She needed more money than I had, but I got the sense that she was telling the truth. So I turned to my blog.

I only had about 100 subscribers at the time, but I told Pat’s story in a post, asking friends and strangers to consider chipping in whatever they could.

Within 24 hours, we had the money: something to the tune of $500. By the end of the week, it was closer to $1000. That’s not a ton of money to some people, but it was a matter of survival—of life and death—for Pat.

That was the first time I saw the true power of blogging: not only to get a message out there, but to truly change lives. Looking back years later, I can now see the application to online business.

Here are three important lessons we can learn from this story.

People want to help other people

What does this have to do with you? Well, if you help others, they will want to help you.

This is called “reciprocity” and is an important key to online business and community-building.

If you do good, good will come your way.

It only takes a tribe to make a difference

Do you think you don’t have enough fans or followers to make a real impact? Try again.

There were only bout 20 or 30 people who gave a donation to my “Pat fund,” but it was enough for her.

If you have a message to spread (or a product to sell), you might be surprised by how few it actually takes to get the word out (and to make a living).

As an example, I’ve noticed that a small percentage of my readers actually buy my products, but those that do are dedicated fans. So whether it’s $4.99, or $499, they’re interested.

Tell a story people can participate in

What made this giving opportunity so attractive was that people could take action and see immediate results. They got to be a part of the story.

And this is worth way more than a mere “return on investment.” They were given the gift of significance.

I saw the same thing with a recent book launch where I encouraged people to submit their stories. In a few days, I had upwards of 100 entries. Just think how much more vested in the project those people will be once it releases.

The next time you launch something, consider how you can empower people to tell their stories and be part of a larger one worth telling. Jeremy Statton explained how he uses this technique to create engaging contests in a recent post here on ProBlogger.

So, tell me: how has blogging changed your life? Share your story in the comments.

Jeff Goins is a writer who lives in Nashville. You can follow him on his blog or on Twitter @jeffgoins. His new book, Wrecked, just came out. This week only, you can get the eBook on Amazon for only $0.99.

Originally at: Blog Tips at ProBlogger

How Blogging Changed One Woman’s Life (and Mine, Too)

The Power of Personal

Posted: 05 Aug 2012 07:07 AM PDT

This week, we’ve got a couple of intriguing blog posts coming up that deal with bloggers’ personal stories.

Obviously, personal stories tend to do well with blog readers. But look around, and you’ll see that personal stories have become a mainstay of the media more generally.

Personal stories are big

We have reality t.v.—real stories about real people (admittedly in some pretty outlandish situations!). We have the social media explosion, where anyone and everyone has the opportunity to “go viral” and enjoy their fifteen minutes of fame. We even have a whole generation of people who are reputedly more self-assured—and self—promoting—than ever before.

Personal stories are big—and not just online, or among bloggers. So if you’re yet to experiment with the power of personal on your blog, now’s the time to commit to it across the board.

But blogging is inherently personal, right?

Blogging might have started as online journaling, but I think we’d probably all agree that it’s come a long way since then.

If you’re blogging as an employee for a company, you may not consider what you do to be very personal. If you’re running a news-style blog, you may feel that your job is to report facts objectively, not tell stories.

So, depending on the kind of blog you run, you may find it difficult to inject a personal element into what you do.

Personal isn’t always about you

What if you are writing blog posts for a corporation? Or what if you’re just shy about revealing too much of yourself?

How can you get personal without making it about you?

Simple: put the personal focus onto others:

Your readers and commenters: by doing regular Q&A posts, highlighting their contributions to your blog and niche, and so on. Even a reader poll can produce information for a post that really resonates with readers and generates discussion.
Industry leaders: quoting them is a good start, but why not interview them yourself, add commentary or opinion on their comments, and include publicly usable photos and videos of them? As a first step in this direction, you could simply include the photos and bios of guest posters and contributing authors to your blog. They’re industry experts too—we hope!
Those you’re connected to: whether they’re family, friends, industry contacts, colleagues, or social media connections, relating the stories, experiences, and perspectives of those around you can give a really personal feel to a post. As an unusual example, I really love how Heather Armstrong does this with her daily photo posts of her dog Chuck.

Personality-rich post formats

Personal posts don’t just have to revolve around topics—certain post formats seem to do a lot to help us create a personal connection.

Here are a few of my favorites:

The personality roundup: A roundup of personalities within your niche—with images and links—is a great way to give a human feel to any blog.
The interview: I mentioned this above, but your interview could use video and audio too—and be the better for it.
The image post: Images do speak a thousand words. The great thing about them is that a good image will elicit emotions from your readers, so often you can say less about yourself and more about your niche—and still create that personal connection.
The irreverent post: Reporting the facts in chatty language is another good way to create a personal feel—provided it fits with the tone and thrust of your blog.

Are you using the power of personal?

Are you confidently creating a sense of personal connection through your blog, or is it something you struggle with? what techniques do you use? Share your tips and advice with us in the comments.

Originally at: Blog Tips at ProBlogger

The Power of Personal