Why You Must Write Your Boogie Man Post

My 3 year old swears a monster lives in his bottom dresser drawer.  The monster is a smart son-of-a-gun, he only hides there when I leave the room.  But…If I read “Llama Llama Mad at Mama” right before bed, he won’t come out. (smart kid)

The dresser monster is my boy’s boogie man.

The funny thing is that we never really outgrow the “boogie man” do we?

Although you may not want to admit it there is something that scares you.   It has tremendous power over you and effects every part of your life.  It prods you to make the safe choice in your relationships, your career, friendships, and even your blog.  Here’s what I mean

I’m not going to tell you that your boogie man isn’t scary.  I AM going to challenge you to NOT let it hold you back.  Stick with me -

In my Mohawk post, I challenged you to write your “Boogie man post”

I’m not going to lie…Your Boogie Man Post is dangerous

• It’s controversial – It’s what you really think
• It’s out of character – to people who don’t know you
• It draws a line in the sand – you will die on the hill defending it.

This is the post that you created your blog to write.  But you decided to tuck it away instead.  Perhaps you didn’t want to make waves.  Or, you felt that your readers wouldn’t understand you. But, let’s be honest, you were afraid of that post because it put YOU out there with no safety net.

However, I want let you off the hook.  You need to write that post and publish it now.

Why Your Boogie Man is Your Best Friend

Right now, thousands of blogs are being launched for the first time.  My gut tells me that their authors are playing it safe. So everyone is stampeding for the nice, safe, mushy middle.  Their posts are logical, precise, and utterly – boring.

That’s great news for you because you can be spectacular just being yourself and quit trying to be the grown-up in the room.

Here’s another way to look at it.

Your readers are struggling to drink from the information firehouse and drowning in the process. They are looking for someone who will make their information and entertainment choice an easy one.  You can be their new BFF if you have a unique perspective on their world.

That Boogie Man Post may be your ticket inside their circle of trust.

One more thing…

I’m not the kumbaya type but I believe you need to fight for what is important to you.  Something inside you gets stronger when you put yourself out there and dare the world to prove you wrong.

How to Write Your Boogie Man Post

Get Leverage On Yourself:

I first heard the phrase, “Get Leverage on Yourself” from Tony Robbins almost 15 years ago and it’s been my secret weapon ever since. Simply, it means that you put yourself in a position to grow or suffer real consequences.

Try this…Announce your post to your readers and tell them when you plan on to publish it. Take it one step further and recruit an accountability partner to hold your feet to the fire.

Talk to One Person Not A Crowd:

Have you noticed the sing-songy voice that you hear in your head when you read most blog posts?  It’s like the author is giving a speech rather than talking directly to you.

Instead, you should aim for is a personal, bar-stool conversation. Imagine your reader is sitting right next to you and you are having a personal conversation.  In fact, get a handheld recorder, turn it on, and start talking.  Keep talking until you get tired.

Now listen to your recording and transcribe it.  You’ll be surprised by the personal power you feel vibrating on the page.  This is your true voice and it’s absolutely key to making your post sing.

Lower Your Expectations:

Your Boogie Man post may not be your most popular but it will definitely be your most important.

Of all of your posts, this one will be your most personal.  It may not make sense or resonate with everyone but you need to say it.  This post is unleashing your inner superstar and you gotta go through the exercise.  So don’t fixate on how many comments you get or the number of retweets the post racks up.

Write it in one sitting:

This may be a difficult post to write so it’s important to get it written and published.  Don’t lose momentum by spending time sketching out fancy outlines and mindmaps. Just sit down and write!

Here’s a trick, turn your headline into a question.  Then answer the question with your post.

Edit For Clarity Not Safety

Once the Boogie Man is out of the closet, go through the post and edit ruthlessly.  Look for spots where your central idea gets muddled.  Trim until you get to your core idea.  You are looking for a crystal clear explanation of your central point.

You know you’ve hit the mark when you can’t cut a single word without ruining your post.

But be careful.  You’ll have to fight back the urge to play it safe.  Don’t take the bait.  If anything, increase the intensity of your post.

Get Started Now: Your audience is waiting for you to come out of your shell. It’s about time you show them exactly what you’re made of and how much you care about them.  Don’t worry about getting it right – just focus on getting it done.

What’s been holding you back from writing your boogie man post?  Leave a comment and tell me how you plan to write your post.