Lost & Found: My Blogging Voice

The past year has been crazy for the Nicolay household…to say the least! Reggie started his new job with RPR…and has been passionately reaching out to curious agents and creating a variety of helpful resources that are soon to launch. I, on the other hand, have been extremely focused on my new company.  Agent Evolution was born from our efforts right here on MTO! After all, many of you have regular questions for us…and occasionally ask for help with your blogs. So we answered by mixing my teaching skills with Chad’s blog shop to provide a full service new media company!

In the midst of this professional progression, we’ve definitely let our regular MTO blogging schedule slide. Let’s face it, something had to give! And frankly, as a Mom, I wasn’t willing to give up bike rides to the park, volunteering at school, and bedtime stories. Finding balance in life is far more important and harder to achieve these days. But all in all, I can’t complain…I’m very fortunate to be able to work alongside @ReggieRPR…but also get to go out and play (aka: educate and inspire).

So now, it’s only right that we get back to the heart of what’s propelled our professional lives….and passion for the last 5 years!!! MTO was created with 100% of passion and love for real estate technology. And it should be expected that we will continue to feed that niche. Reggie and Chad will continue to focus more on product and service releases, hardware, and innovative technical know-how! And I’ll stick to listening to the little voice inside that feeds my passion for sharing thoughts, ideas, and strategies for technology and marketing implementation.

Okay, now that you’re up to speed…let’s get back to the title of this article! In the past I’ve suggested creating a content posting plan and shared several blog topic ideas. These tips can really kickstart a new blog or create consistency with existing blogs. But what happens when the plan doesn’t match the voice?! Well, now that I’ve experienced this firsthand…I do have a few suggestions. So here’s my advice when you’re faced with a nasty case of “blogger’s block”.

(1)    Read, read, and read some more. Reading other blogs or a really good book will often inspire your own thoughts and ideas.

(2)    Go to an event, or just have a coffee (or better yet, wine) with a friend. Sometimes a good conversation is all you need to get your creative juices flowing. Plus you may have colleagues or friends that ask REALLY great questions…which make for great articles!

(3)    Make time to write….at the right time. Only you know the best time of day for your inner voice! So listen to it. But if you sit down…and all you can think about is “how do I get this over with” …walk away, go do something active or interesting. You can’t force the inner voice!

(4)    Your best bet, ALWAYS, is to write what you know or write about experiences you’ve had. Take that a step further by relating your expertise and experience to your target audience by giving them a little nugget of advice, a tip, strategy…or “ah-ha moment” that they can benefit from!

I know these suggestions may seem fairly obvious…but that’s because they work. And they are only suggestions until you put them into play! So go now…it’s time to play!