Where Will Your Story Take You?

Every blog, every business, every one of us, has a story. You have yours – the arc that defines you, informs your decisions, and drives your efforts.

Specifically with blogs and social media, the story of why people blog and what makes them keep blogging – which is a lot harder – is one of the most interesting aspects of staying involved. People relate to stories, get lost in them, and – it ought not to be a surprise – the best stories are often the ones that build the best and most successful businesses in the long run.

One of the absolutely best ways to hear the story-behind-the-blog, as it were, is to attend local social media events and conferences. What’s often eye-opening for me about these events is how important and personal these stories are, even for blogs that are “just” about saving money at the store, teaching about your hobby, or organizing people for an event. Often you don’t get to find out the real story until you’re chatting one-on-one over a cocktail.

These stories matter. Your story matters.

And for the longest time I haven’t told the story of FeedBlitz. For starters, it’s still happening and I do not want to get off this ride! Those of you who’ve stuck with this crazy little one-billion-emails-a-year service know a little about it, and some of you who’ve joined us more recently might not.

But stories matter. FeedBlitz’s story matters.

And so I’m especially excited to reveal that I’m going to the opening keynote speaker at this year’s BloggyCon conference in Cincinnati, Ohio this Fall, where I will tell parts of FeedBlitz’s story (so far) and do my level best to both inspire and entertain the attendees.

Even though I’m naturally an introvert, paradoxically, I enjoy public speaking. So I want to to do this, to tell the story, because, ultimately, I want to the attendees to understand that their stories matter, too.

Every blog, every business, every one of us, has a story. My story’s taking me to Cincy in September to give my first ever conference keynote. Where, I wonder, will yours take you? Tell it, live it, and dare to find out.