The surprising lesson my Master’s degree taught me about blogging
For years I’ve desired to launch a blog that provides value and helps people solve their problems.
I bought domain names like most women buy shoes at a BOGO sale, but nothing ever came from them. I never got around to writing the content, afraid to start and intimidated by the formatting.
But this made no sense.
When I first thought of a blog launch (in the career sense at least), I had just graduated top of my class with a degree in Interdisciplinary studies with a dual focus in Linguistics and Writing. I taught writing and ESL for goodness’ sake.
But when I saw that screen, I froze.
I could crank out a creative essay that left my class feeling and experiencing deep emotions, and write a research paper along with the best of them.
But still, I didn’t — couldn’t — translate this into an online business.
Finally, I went back to school. I felt like I needed it — this Master’s I had dreamed of for so long. And I felt like it would finally help me beat depression and feel like myself again.
And it did.
I poured myself into a Master’s of Liberal Arts in English Literature with a sprinkling of history. I crammed 36 hours into a calendar year and wrote quality research papers by the dozen.
Fast-forward a few months and I have my MLA. And no desire to step into the dog-eat-dog world of the academy.
Maybe, this time, I could finally start my online business, with the confidence of a 4.0 Master’s program behind me.
But, I found that I was still missing something. This time I had a huge content plan, a brand, services, paying customers.
But I still struggle to write the damn content.
Until something finally clicked.
As I read Taylor Coil’s article, “Nobody cares about your blog,” I realized my mistake.
The blogosphere and the academy were not as different as I realized.
My biggest hesitation in blogging was the cheesiness, the begging, the schemes, the “give me your email for this crappy PDF,” and the empty blog posts that never really delivered.
But what did I do?
I sat down to blog and just started writing, spewing out info like a pseudo journal or long-form FB post .
But when Taylor Coil discussed a blog as a resource library, something clicked.
A resource library. That is what I wanted. A place where people got true value and genuine, helpful content, without the gimmicks.
I analyzed my writing style for “blog posts” and found that they were… everything I didn’t want them to be.
So, being the researcher I am, I drilled down into my process for writing for blogs, and the academy to figure out why.
For Blog posts I would:
- Get a general idea
- Think of a catchy headline
- Begin writing
- Research as I went
- Edit immediately
- Let it die in my draft file
But for research papers I would:
- Create a thesis or a question
- Research and take notes
- Sort the “data” into like categories
- Figure out the most coherent flow
- Write the paper
- Decide on title
- Get some space
- Edit and Submit
The difference in the two was night and day.
I’ve found that I am a terrible drafter. If I draft before I think through the strategy, I’ve already lost. And there is almost no way to salvage the draft because I’m trying to build without a foundation.
But that’s what I did for blog posts. Repeatedly. For years.
Why would I approach blog writing so differently from every other kind of writing I’ve ever done?
With this realization, blogging seems less daunting, and my publications automatically more valuable. All it took was a shift in perspective. Of taking my blogging work as seriously as my academic work.
Blogging isn’t another world. It isn’t supposed to be a vapid journal or click-baity article to sell stuff or get affiliate income.
Blogs are resources. And that is one thing I know how to create, and create well.
So here’s to progress — to true research. To real writing and to crafting valuable content.
At least, that’s the goal.
