When I come to the ChurchMag blog, I am looking for something nerdy and geeky, maybe entertaining, and definitely something based on the church. As a Church Techie, I do not have those same expectations and actually hold ChurchMag in much higher regard with Church Tech then anything that Mashable, Tech Crunch, or The Verge could ever write on because they have built an authority that has established a strong influence as a blog with this topic. At the same time, I would never go to ChurchMag for help on how to translate my Greek, non-tech or geeky ways of doing discipleship, or how to serve well in hospitality ministry.
Yet we make that mistake to think that we can just jump into blogging or critique others when we ourselves do not have anything to say online.
How To Blog In Your Influence
So how do you work this out well? Here are three ideas.
- Only write what you know
If you are blogging about Apple apps and have been an Apple fanboy, good for you. But if you are like me and have not even touched Android, then what authority do you even have to speak into the Android platform? If all you are is regurgitating what others have said, you are not being a context leader and instead just a simpleton that is not worried about great content for your readers. - You are posting on the wrong forum
You might have the background with the subject matter, but if you do not have the right forum, you are missing out on building the right influence. I see this with the Resurgence’s post on how to write a blog post. Anything wrong with the article? It’s a little stale, but no. Do you think the audience looks to the Resurgence for blogging tips? Not at all. - Expecting results right away
Unlike blogging’s little brother, social media, you cannot expect instant success unless you have celebrity status to help (yourself or friends) or you have a huge audience before you even setup the blog. You might be writing great content and yet it could still take 2-3 years for people to really discover what you are writing. Be consistent, focus on the content, and always grow in your blogging position with new techniques and lessons from great mentors.
What do you think about people who blog outside of their influence?
How would you address someone that fails in any one of these three areas?
Speak your mind...