How to Know if Your Online Voice is Authentic

Finding your voice as a blogger is a challenge that pays off in a loyal audience that knows what to expect from you and comes back for more and more. Hopefully your voice is not an artificial mask that you don for the sake of your audience but comes from the essence of who you are. If your blogging voice is who you really are, then you will find blogging easier and will be able to present a consistent persona across all platforms.

How can you know that your online voice is authentic? You will know when you meet your online friends in real life and they say those confirming words,

“You are just like you are on your blog!”

or

“You are exactly like I expected you to be!”

At one particular event this spring, I kept hearing those words over and over, and it affirmed to me that who I am on my blog is who I truly am. I have a clear voice, and that voice is me.

As a blogger, it was one of the greatest compliments I can receive. My voice is authentic. It is true to who I am. I am not putting on a false persona or posing as someone I am not.

It also shows me that my voice is ringing out in my writing. My work is not bland and void of personality. It sings with a flavor of Jimmie! And that is what creates loyal readers — they come back for more of that voice. The voice is who they connect with and develop loyalty to. Your search engine traffic comes for answers to their questions; they don’t care about your voice initially. But if you can get them to subscribe and come again, your voice is what makes friends with them.

And this is why when people who read your blog meet you in person, they say,

“I feel like I know you!”

Because they do know you. Your true person has been revealed in your blogging voice.

 

Jimmie Quick

Jimmie is a veteran homeschool mom and empty nester who works from home doing digital marketing in the homeschool niche.

Click Here to Leave a Comment Below
Candace - July 12, 2013 Reply

This is good food for thought. πŸ™‚ it’s especially interesting to me to think about because I have often said that I pray that sharing on my blog can be an encouragement, especially about struggles…authenticity. BUT I think I’m very different online than I am in person. I’m a total introvert in “real life” but pretty wordy online. πŸ™‚ I just write better than I speak…so many more words come out when I’m typing than when I’m in a conversation with someone in person. Not sure…maybe I’m just weird that way. πŸ™‚

    thrive themes - July 12, 2013 Reply

    Candace, thanks for dropping by.

    The words and tone you use, are they the same online as in real life? That means your online voice is authentic. We may be more introverted in real life, but I think our voice can still shine through online in the way we express ourselves.

      Candace - July 12, 2013 Reply

      I see what you are saying about “voice…” I think it’s the same for me off and online, I pray so. πŸ™‚ I could stand to say out loud a lot more of the things I write about though. Re: speaking truth to myself!

        thrive themes - July 12, 2013 Reply

        I didn’t spend a lot of time with you, but on a surface level at least, I agree. Your online and real life voices match.

Amber @ Classic Housewife - July 12, 2013 Reply

Great post! I need to get out and meet more people. πŸ˜‰
My authentic voice is the reason I overuse smilies, ellipses, bold, italic, all caps and run on sentences. =) (And that’s with restraint!)

Interesting timing, While helping my (introverted) daughter learn to write well for her new blog, her voice (exciting! colorful! exuberant!) comes through loud and clear. I’m trying to encourage improvement in style and grammar without editing out her authentic voice. =)

    thrive themes - July 12, 2013 Reply

    Yes, you are very bubbly in person, Amber, and your punctuation (that part made me laugh) reflects that. Happy that you are letting your daughter’s voice shine through on her blog. Blogging is not academic writing. Voice is essential.

Jennifer Lambert - July 12, 2013 Reply

I just had someone say that to me last night. Love it! Some of my bloggy friends are coming out of their shells and learning to be more authentic, less fearful, more real, more “them” – removing aliases and realizing that readers want more reality. God is moving in the blog community!

    thrive themes - July 12, 2013 Reply

    Congrats, Jennifer! You have an authentic voice! I need a badge or something. Ha ha.
    It is hard, I think, to find that voice for your blog. Sometimes you want to be perceived as one way and it might not be totally authentic. I have struggled with that before.

Mary - July 12, 2013 Reply

Jimmie – yes! When I met you your personality matched the warm, knowledge filled person I “heard” on your blog for years before! This is an insightful post. Thank you!

    thrive themes - July 12, 2013 Reply

    Thanks, Mary. I am happy to hear this. Meeting your online friends helps a lot. When I read your posts and updates, I can hear you in my head.

Dan R Morris - July 17, 2013 Reply

I love this more subjective side of hearing the truth in your voice. I haven’t thought about it that way before.

One of the things I like to do with clients is to use Twitter and Klout to measure whether their message is getting across. On Twitter it is interesting to see what lists people have put you in. And on Klout you get to see what a computer thinks you’re influential about – basically what words people respond to when you write them.

But the idea of voice, that you bring up, is different and more sincere. Great insight for sure.

Heidi St. John - July 25, 2013 Reply

Jimmie <3 You are the real thing! Thanks for encouraging everyone to be real, too!

Mary - April 28, 2014 Reply

Love this. Yes — when I met a lot of readers at GHC last month several said to me, “You sound just like I thought you would.” To me, that was the greatest compliment. So often I wonder if my readers really KNOW me, and KNOW my intentions. This was affirming to me. πŸ™‚

I must say — your height doesn’t come through in your blog posts, though. hee hee!

Mariam aka Mimi - September 21, 2014 Reply

I think its easy to decide how you’re being received in an audience of people, but more difficult when you’re writing on a blog it’s much harder! thank you for this jimmie!! I shared this for saturday sharefest on my blog =)

Lauren (English Wife Indian Life) - September 25, 2016 Reply

Yes!! It’s so special when people feel so connected already when they meet you first!

I love my audience a lot!

Thank you for this affirming post xx

Leave a Comment: