I have been doing a lot of thinking lately about the reason for blogging.

This is partly because people ask me (very often) why I do it, and partly because I want to create as much value as I can.

I heard a famous, successful blogger say that good blogging is about “OBSESSION x VOICE”, or, if you want…”TOPIC x VOICE”.

Now, that may or may not sound obvious, but to me it helps to clarify the purpose. In fact, now I wish my tagline was “A Voice in Construction Marketing”. That seems to answer a lot of questions.

Here is what I learned to be the core when it comes to How to Blog / Motivation for Blogging:

1. Say things that are meaningful.

2. Say them in a voice that you believe in.

3. Attract the attention and respect of the people you admire.

I believe if you start a blog with the intent to make money you are fooling yourself. That’s not saying there’s not money to be made, it’s just that the intent of making money will prevent you from creating a valuable blog. And if your blog has no value, it won’t even attract flies, let alone attention and respect.

So, in the end, my recent blogging career is about creating a space online for a voice. My voice. And to use that voice to create value.

How do you measure blog value? Well, that’s specific to the blogger. For me, it’s positive feedback and interesting introductions. And so far, by that measure, blogging has been a better broad-scale resource than any other activity I’ve seen.

So, if you are wondering whether you yourself should start a blog, the answer is NO. Then, if you can’t stop yourself and you start one anyway, you passed the test.

Happy blogging.

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