255: My Mid-Life Crisis and The Power of Being Vulnerable on a Blog

The Power of Being Vulnerable with Your Readers Have you experienced the power of taking a step out of your comfort zone and being vulnerable with your readers? I have long believed in the power of being vulnerable. It can be hard to be vulnerable. It feels very risky, but brings about a feeling of freedom. I’ve witnessed the power of vulnerability. But I am always wary about being too vulnerable. I worry that to show weakness might take away some authority I’ve built, or that too much vulnerability will frustrate some readers and listeners. I’ve built my brand around how-to content, and I know just talking about my insecurities, problems, and failures isn’t really going to help anyone. But I was recently reminded that allowing myself to be more vulnerable can make good things happen. You may have read the article I published on Medium about having a bit of a mid-life crisis. I don’t want to talk about that crisis, but about what happened when I did share this information with my audience. I put the post on Medium and not ProBlogger because although it touches on blogging, it’s not a post about it and relates to many, not just bloggers. The reactions were almost 100% positive. Stats since it was published: Almost 8,000 views, 1,400 “Claps” and 38 comments Resonated with a much wider age range than expected (20-85) People responded with personal, vulnerable, and in-depth comments More than 350 people have joined the Facebook group to discuss the article Real-life friends, family members, blog readers, and complete strangers are contacting me and talking to each other to form a community People find it refreshing that I’m transparent and don’t always have it all together Feedback creates energy and freedom The journey isn’t over. There are more parts that I want and need to share - in time. While I’m arguing the case for being vulnerable with your readers, I’m not saying  you need to strip yourself bare in every area of your life. Boundaries are a good thing. I also think there’s a time and a place for being vulnerable. There are things in my life that I’m not ready to talk about. I need to sort out my thoughts and feelings. Before being vulnerable, ask yourself these questions: Are you ready to share your story? Why are your sharing the story? Are you over-sharing? Will this story hurt someone you love? Quotes of the Week from Brene Brown, author of Daring Greatly: “Vulnerability is the birthplace of innovation, creativity, and change.” “Vulnerability is the birthplace of love, belonging, joy, courage, empathy, and creativity. It is the source of hope, empathy, accountability, and authenticity. “Vulnerability sounds like truth and feels like courage. Truth and courage aren't always comfortable, but they're never weakness.” P.S. Thanks to everyone who submitted stories about their blogging breakthroughs. We can’t possibly use them all, but we look forward to sharing some of them with you soon. Further Listening How to Build Authority, Influence and Trust when Nobody Knows Who You Are 9 Hurdles I’ve Faced as a Blogger and How I Got Over Them The Biggest Lesson I Learned About Building a Profitable Blog in 2015 My Million Dollar Blog Post (and How Procrastination Almost Stopped Me Writing It) Examples of My Mid-Life Crisis and The Power of Being Vulnerable on a Blog How I’m Dealing with My Third Mid-Life Crisis The Vulnerability of Blogging Kelly Exeter Courses Starting a Blog ProBlogger Pro – 31 Days to Build a Better Blog Join our Facebook group. Full Transcript Expand to view full transcript Compress to smaller transcript view Hi there and welcome to episode 255 of the ProBlogger Podcast. My name is Darren Rowse. I’m the blogger behind ProBlogger, a blog, podcast, event, job board, and a series of ebooks,