Does Your Blog Have Power?

In my last post I lamented about not owning my blogging. I waffle, post sporadically, apologize and shuffle my feet when people ask me about my blog. As I consider what it means to “own it,” two specific comments heard at BlogHer keep coming to mind.

1. In the “Little Fish In A Big Pond” session, an audience member (who seemed to represent a company, not sure if she was a blogger) made a comment to the effect of: My company doesn’t care about your stats. ALL blogs are important and your blog can be just as valuable whether it’s small or large.

OK. A small blog can absolutely have value to its audience. But I think it’s misleading to tell a group of bloggers that their stats don’t matter and all blogs are important in terms of attracting advertisers. If your paragraphs are riddled with grammatical and spelling errors, you can’t form a concise post, and you have 10 readers, I’m sorry, but you aren’t going to have advertisers paying you for space. Blogging is just another media outlet like TV, magazines, and radio. If you’re good, you attract an audience. It’s your audience that is valuable to the advertiser. (And if the person who made that comment happens across this post, please contact me. If you don’t care about stats, I’ve got LOTS of ad space to sell you.)

2. During the closing keynote, Gloria Feldt talked about the power of bloggers. She said that the expo hall was filled with Fortune 10 companies because of our power.

Having 2400+ people in one area, eager to try out new products, is pretty enticing to a company. But having 2400+ bloggers – people who put themselves out there on a regular basis, people who have the guts to share their lives in a very public way, people who have the potential to be thought leaders – in one space? Well, that’s a slam dunk. Collectively, we have power. That doesn’t mean each and every one of us is entitled to a book deal and $1,000 monthly ad revenues.

Owning it means believing in your potential as a writer and a thought leader, but you must be willing to work hard. Every blogger has potential. If you write well, brand yourself effectively, and blog honestly, you can be powerful. But powerful doesn’t mean rich. In this case, powerful means having the ear of – and perhaps a bit of influence over – an audience that trusts you.

Photo credit: Tim Manteau via Flickr