Do You Have to Write a Blog?

I have a variety of things that you can do to build your brand: blogging, authoring, speaking, and more. I tell people that you can do one or more of these to raise your profile, but do the things you're comfortable with. If you like mentoring people and presenting information to others inside your company, then do that.

Lots of people don't really like to write. I can understand that since I hated writing all through school, and then for some reason got the bug after I left college. However most people in a professional occupation, or even in business for themselves, need to learn to write, and blogging is a great way to build those skills.

But if you don't want to blog, don't want to put out your thoughts for others, then don't. Blogs aren't required, and if you don't have good writing skills, you can make yourself look bad with a blog that's consistently poorly written.

Use some other way to raise your brand if that's important to you. Pick some other way that you are more comfortable with. IT can be managing, leading, speaking, or some other way of showing off the skills and knowledge that you have.

I do urge you to spend small amounts of time documenting things, learning to express yourself through writing, but you don't have to create a blog. Create a private journal, and learn to express yourself better.