Getting Bored with Your Own Writing

I just erased an entire blog post that was intended for this spot. I had an interesting anecdote to start things out and tied it to an important business principle, but when I read it back it bored me. It did not pass the “So What?” test, so I ditched it and started over.

I am usually fascinated with my own writing, so this was fairly unusual, but I  figured it was best to cut my losses and write something else, rather than waste your time by subjecting you to a pointless story about a car ride from a friend’s house.

When writing a blog or email newsletter, we should always be willing to give our writing the “So What?” test.  Every time we post or send an article, we are sharing information that we hope will be compelling to our readers in some way. It might be useful or entertaining or thought-provoking — or in the best cases all of the above — but it must always be purposeful.

In most cases, writing for email newsletters and business blogs should be more journalistic than journal-ly. It is always nice to reveal a little about yourself, but beware the urge to be self-indulgent and taking too long to get to your point.

Some personal stories are indeed interesting and relevant, but some are not. It is our job to be self-aware and make those calls.

So be human and write with personality, but stay on point and keep the unproductive personal revelations to a minimum. And that is something I can never remind myself of too often.