You gaze out the window and think about whether you should just surf back over to Facebook and cheer yourself up with funny wedding dance videos... or head to Pinterest and find a great recipe for dinner....

Why bother writing another post that you won't get comments on?  You wonder, "Is anyone reading what I write?  Why am I doing this?"

Do you ever feel that way?  Wondering how you can catch the attention of more readers and get them interested in reading your blog posts?

What makes the difference between a blog post that just gets skimmed or even ignored, and one that grabs the reader and pulls them in as they read?

It can be easy to focus on our words and information we're sharing and forget that more than just words and facts or instructions or resources go into a great blog post that gets read, shared, commented and acted on.

Write on topics with twists your readers are interested in.

One of the smartest shifts I made as a blogger was to realize that it's not what I am writing about but who I am writing for.

Start a list of the top dreams and fears of your ideal reader.  What is she struggling with?  What problems or challenges does she need solutions to?  What are her biggest dreams and goals in life (or in business)?

From that list, what can you share about?  Can you share solutions, resources, or steps towards their goals?

Create your posts based on how you can be of service to your ideal reader and you'll find it's easier to catch your readers' attention and connect with your them because you're sharing exactly what they want to know or achieve.

They might even feel like you're inside their heads and have super mind-reading powers!

Always include interesting images in your posts.

It's easy to find or create images you can use in  your blog posts.  So take that extra few minutes to include them!

Here are 20 of my favorite free sources for images:
http://michelleshaeffer.com/20-totally-free-image-sources/2011/11/05/

And here's how to add an image to a blog post if you're in WordPress:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ij_9cClMm0ss

Images catch our attention and help us connect with the words on the screen.

Plus, when your blog posts are shared on Facebook and Pinterest, those images are what really get your potential readers to stop, look, and click!

Consciously paint visual and emotional pictures with your words.

Are you using stories in your blog posts?  Narratives that connect to more than "how to" or "what to"?

Painting visual pictures give your readers more than just words, but evokes scent, sight, touch, and emotion and will make your posts more intriguing and memorable.

"Good writing is supposed to evoke sensation in the reader--not the fact that it is raining, but the feeling of being rained upon." E. L. Doctorow

Be intentional about these three elements in every post you write and watch the difference in makes!

So, reader, what catches YOUR eye and draws your attention in blog posts?  Share in the comments!

Last week half of an outlet in my kitchen stopped working (the half I plug my coffee pot into!). Yes, this IS an emergency in my world, even though I live a 2 minute walk from a Starbucks.

It's beyond my ability to fix a cranky electrical outlet but my Daddy has the tools and knowledge to deal with it. He checked a couple of things and then proceeded to take the outlet apart.

When I casually mentioned to please not get electrocuted because:

• I wasn't opposed to performing CPR, but
• it's been a long time since I took that class, and
• I'm pretty sure they've changed it again

... he responded that there was nothing to worry about.

Nothing to worry about?! 

Wires behind the outlet are not something I ever want to play with. I can just see myself touching the wrong wire and being fried cripsy!

Why was I afraid of something that held absolutely no power to disturb my Dad's feeling of safety?

I don't fully understand electricity and the wiring inside of buildings, but he does.

He could tell me:

• exactly what the voltage and amperage were in each wire
• what each of the wires were for, which were safe to touch and which weren't
• how to avoid ending up with an electricity-into-muscle-spasm-induced death grip on a live wire that'd kill me

The point?

One of the biggest lessons my Dad has modeled for me over the years is this:

You don't have to be afraid of things once you understand them.

If something feels scary, overwhelming, or doesn't make sense,
seek to learn and understand it
(or understand yourself and your reaction to it)
and once you do, it loses it's power over you.

It doesn't mean there's no danger or risk.  Once you understand something you can make educated, calculated decisions about how you engage with it.

So, if you aren't rewiring outlets, how does this apply to you?

Afraid of sending an email to your list?  Step back and take time to understand how you got subscribers and what they're looking for from you--then send that and know you don't need to be afraid!

Worried about losing money in your first attempt at a Facebook ads campaign?  Invest in a great course on ads, ask your colleagues for guidance, and learn how to make them work.  No more worry!

A little scared to hit publish on the blog post you've been writing?  Identify what it is that causing you to feel that way and then evaluate if it's really true and what the worst that could happen is--as well as the best!

Don't want to write a blog post no one reads because you're concerned about wasting time?  Be intentional about building connections and community so you have an audience.  Grab my free training to boost your traffic and learn how to promote your next post like a pro.

Unsure about stepping onto a bigger stage through teleclasses, webinars, video or speaking live?  Why?  Do you understand the mechanics of it and how to prepare?  Learn enough to get the basics and then go for it.  (And learn to reframe any possible mistakes or "failure" into more learning because you never fail unless you give up!)

A few years ago, new to dealing with Celiac, I was afraid of any new food.  I wouldn't eat away from home.  I hovered over even my mother in the kitchen, though she'd had repeated and very thorough, emphatic lessons on what I could and couldn't eat.  I've put a lot of time and energy into familiarizing myself not only with my required diet but with the typical kitchen setup and recipes I'm likely to run into, what foods are generally safe in restaurants, and exactly how to read a label.  I've got apps that help me figure out what's safe quickly.  And I've made peace with dealing with reactions when I have them.  I understand it now and I'm in control.

One of the big things I've been focusing on over the past year in my personal life is understanding and conquering many of my own fears and imagined limitations.  I'm reading things like A Calm Brain: How to Relax into a Stress-Free, High-Powered Life and Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions to better understand the psychology, physiology and chemistry in play when I want to go hide under a table or when I feel on the verge of an anxiety attack. Turns out when you understand that, you can control it, too, or at least choose better responses.

I'm still doing one thing every single day that scares me. And that's getting tougher because the more I do it, the less I find I'm afraid of.

There's a book, a website, a program, a workshop, a coach, a mastermind, a friend, a colleague (you get the idea!) to guide you into a deeper understanding of anything you need or hold you accountable for empowering yourself. 

Take control over your fears and learn to take smart, calculated risks.

What's something you might be ready to understand better so you can move forward through your fear?

Two great ways to do that are to (1) sign up for the free service at www.helpareporter.com to get notified when reporters are looking for sources, quotes or information on your topic of expertise and (2) practice writing effective press releases and submit them through online services and your own targeted media contact lists.

Learning to write press releases helps you improve your ability to:

• write attention-catching headlines
• identify and voice what's newsworthy about your business
• establish your credibility and authority

Here's a great infographic from Skadeedle with some of the biggest "dos & dont's" when writing for the media:

This morning a friend and colleague, Julia Neiman, asked just the right question in a private Facebook group I'm in (Hey, Navigators! *waves*) that hit me along with several other conversations and circumstances lately to bring clarity to something I've been struggling with defining.

She asked as a parent what is my biggest fears are around my children's job/career future.  And it triggered a crazy long response that both energized me and clarified for me exactly why it is that I love what I'm doing through my own business.

It boiled down to this (both in my children and those I work with and serve):

Here's what I see in you.  Can you look at yourself through my eyes for a moment?

I see your potential.  YOU are freakin' amazing. 

YOU were created with a mission.  YOU have people you are here to serve.

YOU can make a difference in the world.

My mission is to help you do that.

And I am incredibly blessed and excited to be able to be a small part of you being able to get your message out and reach the people who need you so that you can do what you're here to do!!!  (Yes, I know I put three exclamation marks there--I'm tempted to add many more, that's how excited this gets me.)

Here's some of what I shared in the group:

My main goal in my children's education is to teach them HOW to think, and HOW to learn for themselves, not WHAT to think, or some list of 100 specific things they have to know to pass some test, so equipping them with the tools/strategies they need to become productive adults, and stay confident and determined to do what they want to do with their lives, instead of caving in to what society tells them.

Any other choice or goal is immoral through my eyes because what the world needs is passionate people who've come alive by doing what they were created to do, and serving those they're here to serve through life and business.  To push our children (or ourselves) towards any other path is to deprive the world of what is so desperately needed to create positive change.

So planting that spark and confidence in them that not only CAN they do what they most want to in life, but they MUST to do that for the sake of those around them is my biggest hope and fear -- can I do that? I don't know. I hope so. I'm going to do everything I can to make it happen and that includes every single day trying to make myself a better example for them and when I fail, showing them how to get back up and keep going.

Every child (and person on this planet--this means YOU) has the potential to be the person who changes the world for one person or for many and I don't care if that's through becoming an activist or politician who makes things happen, or scientist or healer who cures disease or eases pain, a teacher or coach who serves as a rock in the pond creating ripples of amazing change through the clients they help and the lives those clients touch, an athlete who inspires us with their drive and raw talent, or creating the next generation of video games that brings fun, or beautiful art or moving music that adds beauty and emotion to our lives... if it's what wakes them up inside, it's what they should be doing.

As someone who lost that and is still rediscovering it, that's my fear for my children. I look back at the people who tried to crush it in me and I wonder (1) how can I keep those people away from my kids (and ALL kids AND help those kinds of people realize what they're doing and stop it!), and (2) how can I help my children find the strength and purpose to not let any negativity discourage them.  How do I teach them to keep going after what they want when the world throws everything at them to stop them? For that matter, how do we as adults do that? (If we can model it, that's all they really need--seeing with their own eyes the possibility, if they can see that possibility, they can create it for themselves.)

I fear the infection of the virus of no goals, no dreams, and no motivation that's taken hold of so many people. Low expectations for themselves because no one in their lives stepped up to hold them to a higher standard and tell them how freakin' amazing they are and what potential they've got.

That's what I want for my children, and for the world around me.

Do the work you're here to do. Find happiness in it. Create positive change in the world.

P.S.  Did you catch that?  YOU ARE AMAZING.  Don't leave your potential inside you.  Do what makes you come alive and turn your potential into reality.  The world is waiting for you.

It's not often someone asks me who shouldn't be blogging.  I'm usually on the other side of that question, encouraging people to start blogs to get their message out.

But leave it to Frank Viola to come up with questions like who shouldn't blog...

Check out this post on his blog to find out when I think a blog isn't a great idea, and why a blogger I've known for years called this interview the "unvarnished" me:

Blogging for Income – An Interview with Michelle Shaeffer