Keeping it up...Got the blog blahs?

It's just past Christmas. On blogger, on dasher, and vixen. Actually, it just past new year's. Time is flying by! And many of you are found with some type of blog-related activity on your list of resolves.

As I believe I mentioned in an earlier blog, sometimes it's better to call new year's resolutions intentions rather than resolutions. My intention is to add a little to my blog, if not every day, then not let too many days pass without sharing here. My goal is to help others and inspire YOU to make the best of your time here on the planet. To achieve YOUR goals.

If one of your goals is keeping up with YOUR blog, read this and take heart. Commit to your blog. Like a real relationship, it takes commitment and communication. A blog is much like a plant or an infant, and thrives with care, thought, and the nourishment of your attention. Like a journal, it can help you be being a repository for thoughts. Hopefully it doesn't become much of a dumping ground for your discontent, but if need be, so be it. Blogs can be sharing places to group-vent at times, and perhaps in doing so, to problem solve through the synergy of shared ideas and experiences.

Some reasons to blog? Blogs are great open-door cocktail parties for networking as well. Unless for some reason you've decided to make your blog a private, secluded affair, you can meet incredible folk that cause your synapses to sing.

One of my favorite reasons for blogging is to share all the groovy, yummy, funny, motivating, an/or entertaining tidbits and resources I discover as I surf from day to day.

Today's show & tell offering is a kick-in-the-pants list of the Dumbest Excuses for Not Blogging from Joan Stewart's "The Publicity Hound's Tips of the Week," an ezine featuring tips, tricks and tools for generating free publicity. Subscribe at http://www.publicityhound.com/ and receive by email the handy cheat sheet "89 Reasons to Send a Press Release."

If you aren't blogging yet, or you've stopped blogging, you can't use these three excuses:

1. --It takes too much time.
2. --I don't know what to say.
3. --Nobody comments at my blog.

Joan addresses these laziness rationalizations one by one:

1. Of course it takes time. She says if she'd have to choose just one social media tool, she'd probably choose a blog. It positions you as an expert in your field far better than noisy sites like Twitter and Facebook can.

2. You don't know what to say? Finding content is one of the biggest complaints I hear from Publicity Hounds. But once you know about shortcuts like creating Google Alerts and checking them each day for topics you can write about, you'll have more content than you'll ever need. That's what I do.

3. Nobody's commenting at your blog? It could be because your content isn't compelling. Or perhaps you aren't feeding your blog into sites like Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn, where thousands more people can share your information with friends, followers and fans. Or maybe you aren't ending your posts with questions like "Am I wrong?" or "What's your take?" or "Share your best tip here and let's see how long a list we can create."

Good luck with your blog, and keep checking back here on Catapult when your motivation lags.
PS...thanks to www/toothpastefordinner.com