Blogging Is Best When It’s Personal

You might have already read Darren Rowse’s post today at Problogger about the power of being personal in your blogging. If not, check it out – it’s… personal.

The post reminded me of one of my all-time favorite blog posts of my own at my personal and pastoral blog, Life Here and There, simply entitled Sometimes I Wish You Knew. I opened my heart and wrote it after a particularly painful weekend in my life. I wrote it to the world, but I was really just clearing my own heart by typing. It had a great response, not just at the blog, but on social networks and even people I know face-to-face who approached me to comment on it.

This experience, and plenty of others like it, tell me some things about getting personal in blogging…

• People are feeling stuff.
• People connect around common feelings and experiences.
• Real “connection” happens around shared pain, joy, and every other emotion.
• In a world lacking in genuine community, the human heart cries out for it.
• Somebody in your world may just need you to be personal.

Perhaps you’ve held off being too personal for fear that it doesn’t fit your niche, your constituents or clientele won’t care or will even think less of you, or that you just can’t open up in this way. You may be right, but don’t miss the point – Blogging is about community. Community is built on connections. Connections are forged by personal interaction, not great articles.