Comments on: How to find your voice – and own it

By: Jenala

Jenala — Sun, 19 Feb 2017 08:00:18 +0000

Thank you for this write up I can totally relate to what you are saying. I have struggled with finding my voice for a very long time. I wasn’t always like this but because of my experiences and what I have gone through my voice has died down and fear has taken a hold of me. At the beginning of the year, I promised myself I was going to work on myself. work on my confidence, attitude, the way I see myself and the words I tell myself. I am working on being whole and finding out who I really am and what I am all about. I know I have something to offer but I have to work on what that thing is and drown out my insecurities.

By: Russ Hanneman

Russ Hanneman — Tue, 23 Jun 2015 02:40:29 +0000

Most people find me arrogant but you can’t get to the $B by letting people step all over you.

By: Diana

Diana — Mon, 22 Jun 2015 15:44:54 +0000

Thanks for this article Derek.

Im currently working through Ramit’s ZTL and I am feeling the tension building as I am now reaching out to bloggers in my area. Eeeppp writing articles…for strangers!

Its reassuring to know that being “me” is a good thing. Im going to let out my inner weirdo and know that not everyone will like me…but that isn’t the goal.

Haters will come with lovers…um…people who love me. Haha

Thanks again,
Diana

By: Diana

Diana — Mon, 22 Jun 2015 15:35:31 +0000

Hi Rebecca, were you successful? Id love to check out your blog and meet your twin. Im in the research stage of my biz (personal development for mothers) and a bit scared to really be me when I do start writing.

By: Diana

Diana — Mon, 22 Jun 2015 15:31:42 +0000

Damn…I assumed your name would be a link. Care to share? Id love check it out.

By: Diana

Diana — Mon, 22 Jun 2015 15:30:01 +0000

High fives Emma! Talk about taking the plunge. Im on the cusp of entering the “mummy blog” world and its scary in the mummy trenches. It scares the crap out of me. Mums can be bitches (pardon my French). So much guilt, judgment and people “shoulding” one another to death.

Heaven forbit you dont love ever waking moment of motherhood. Heaven forbit you love bedtime. Heaven forbit you dont feel guilty at all for taking time for you. Oh and heaven forbid you are depressed or mentaliy unwell.

Im going to go check out your blog now. 😉

By: Susan

Susan — Wed, 17 Jun 2015 16:00:50 +0000

I found your website this morning through a post by Sarah Peterson at Unsettle, and I’m glad I scrolled until found this message. My natural voice is blindingly sarcastic with a hillbilly accent. My friends know me well enough to not take offense when I’m being especially snarky, or making a weird analogy. But since my blog is aimed at homeschool parents and book lovers, I’ve toned down my voice (OK, it’s darn near undetectable) to try to get across my message without the distraction of my warped sense of humor.

I’m not embarrassed to be myself, or worried about haters – I have plenty of those IRL and have developed an immunity. However – do you sometimes feel like you have to back off a bit so that your message is what is heard?

I won’t be taking off all the filters, but I’m going to try to let a little more of myself out into my writing. So thanks for the encouragement!

By: Emma White

Emma White — Thu, 16 Apr 2015 22:41:48 +0000

I will be honest when I began blogging 4 years ago I was terrified of allowing the real me to be portrayed, what would a mentally ill mother of 6 be able to bring to the “mummy blogging” community – I felt lost, I tried to “copy” what they were all doing, just to fit in, the problem was I sucked at baking, am not a very crafty person and mt lifestyle was nothing like tiers. I tried not to blog about the word bipolar or mental health, but I was fooling myself, I had created a fake online persona, nothing was further from the truth, my life was not sunshine and roses. I let me guard down and began sharing other areas of my life too, I spoke about being in an 11 year abusive marriage, I spoke out about parenting with a mental illness and that’s when I saw readers returning and actually interacting on the blog. These mothers didn’t want to know how to bake a chocolate cake, they wanted to know they were not alone withe feeling depressed and guilty about motherhood. I found my voice through my readers, they accepted me, they emailed me, they tweeted and inboxed me. They began sending me their own experiences and the blog grew over night. I have faced criticism, blocked from following certain others on Twitter, received hate email ( the police were involved at 1 point after they got my address) and I have been questioned whether I can call myself a mummy blogger, I don’t call myself anything, I write a mental health blog aimed at supporting mothers- to me that is a mummy blog – I am a mentally ill mother. Finding my voice took courage, yet the blog has now become a lifeline to many.

By: Dina Rodriguez

Dina Rodriguez — Tue, 17 Mar 2015 21:41:35 +0000

Derek!
Really great read, thank you! I especially agree with what you said here “What blends in gets forgotten. What stands out gets remembered.”

We all need to stop being afraid of what comes natural to us. We need to show our personalities and not care what the internet thinks of us. The best way to make a real connection with our audience is to be ourselves without compromise.

This article was very helpful when I was writing my own theories behind developing a unique voice on my blog at http://lettershoppe.com/the-secret-behind-finding-your-unique-voice-and-style. You really inspired me.

Thank you again for this and keep up the great content!

By: Julie

Julie — Sun, 25 Jan 2015 15:44:47 +0000

I don’t think being authentic means that you have to put every single piece of yourself out there. It just means you put your real personality out there. You are building a business they don’t necessarily need to know that in your spare time you are a furry, but they should see your real personality shine through. Of course, all those other interests would likely make for a great blog that would have a great following (just not necessarily a business blog).