Blogger Stories: Monica Ricci

Bloggers are the nicest people. Just ask Monica Ricci. Monica's instincts told her that that a blog could add an extra diminsion to her business strategy. Not quite sure how to begin, with a little help from a friend, Monica quickly got it.

Blogger Story Teller: Monica Ricci, Your Life. Organized
My blog's title is Your Life. Organized.

I had originally heard of blogging about two years ago and I really thought blogs were just online diaries where people would post what they did on Tuesday, random thoughts on world peace, little Susie's potty-training and things of that nature. It blew my mind that people were reading these things. Why on earth would I want to spend my valuable time that way??

Not only was I not interested in reading them, but I certainly wasn't about to write things like that for the whole world to see. I really dismissed blogging as pretty much the dumbest thing going. (because I AM a genius, apparently)

Fast forward to June 2005... I discovered that people were blogging for business. Now that, I  found intriguing. I may not be interested in what random netizens were listening to at the moment or having for lunch, but if I could learn about business through blogs, and more importantly, if I could use a blog to market my own business, I was game to try it. So I signed up with one of the big free blogging sites which shall remain nameless. I soon realized that my challenge was that I had a blog set up but I didn't know how to blog.

Understand, I was no stranger to writing. I had written a book (Organize Your Office In No Time, published in August 2005), and for seven years I had been writing articles and publishing an e-newsletter, so I was accustomed to creating original content. However, I didn't really "get" the concept of blogging, so I found it difficult. In short, I felt pressured to regularly churn out fabulous 500 to 1000 word missives and as a result, I didn't do too much blogging. So here I was with this wonderful new marketing tool at my disposal, and I wasn't using it well. Frustration set in. Hmph.

Fast forward yet again to January 2006 when John Trosko, a colleague of mine from across the country emailed me with a question about the HGTV show, MISSION:Organization. We had never met but we began emailing back and forth. When he mentioned his blog, I told him that I was blogging but that I wasn't loving it and was feeling pressured to create content. He first recommended that I pay for a blog to get additional functionality and from that point on, it was like the blog floodgates had opened! He was so willing to share what had worked for him and that was when my whole attitude about blogging did a complete 180.

I began to actively read other blogs, and I learned how to generate good content without busting my butt every single day. I learned the importance of links out and links in, and all kinds of other cool things. And of course, I'm still learning, but the inspiration John gave me made all the difference in the world.

Now I am a confident blogger who LOVES doing it, I've begun getting comments and even a few subscribers. I've also recently integrated my e-newsletter with my blog and the traffic has increased even more. Now if I could just get my blog to be as good as John Trosko's, I'd be truly happy. :)

Comments

[Ariane from NeatLiving.Net]

Thanks for sharing Monica's Story! When I first heard of blogging a few years ago, I thought mostly kids were using them. But when I learned more and started seeing the wide variety of blogs out there, I became hooked! I started out using my blog to keep track of my learnings, thoughts, books I've read, favorite websites & blogs, ideas for content for my upcoming book, great products I discover to help my clients, but it's become so much more than a tracking tool. I've made some great friends, and I feel like I'm helping other people learn and grow, too! It can be good for business, but I've found it's great for the soul. It's encouraged me to open up personally and share more than I ever dreamed I'd be sharing. Bloggers are some of the most generous people and interesting people on the net. And Monica is definitely one of them!

Ariane Benefit