There’s nothing like a paycheck to keep you blogging.

If you knew that writing a blog post would mean a paycheck, would you write more frequently, more regularly, more enthusiastically, more thoughtfully?

Would those dollars and cents be enough motivation to push you past your resistance? Would you create the lovely rhythm of word after word because you knew that there was a financial reward at the end?

For most of us, the line between blogging and the bottom line of our business is not so clear.

We are blogging for business — make no mistake about that — but no one is actually handing over dollars every time we write.

For what now seems like a brief time, about 18 months total, I worked for a university writing a leadership blog. Three times per week, typically on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, I wrote and published posts on leadership topics. Occasionally, I wrote what might have felt like advertisements for the school and its leadership degrees, but more typically, I wrote real content on the topic of leadership, infusing my own personality and perspectives into each post.

During that time, I wrote consistently. I wrote consistently and I invoiced consistently, and I deposited my paychecks in the bank, consistently.

If blogging is your job, you’ll get it done.

When I started my own blog in December of 2010, I stayed with the routine of posting three times per week —for a quite a while.

And I realized that I found rewards through blogging FAR beyond the paycheck.

For me, writing is its own reward.

And, through the writing, this: the relationships, the community, the camaraderie, the support, the insights of others.

Also: the feeling of accomplishment, the record of my journey, the ability to share what I know with others.

What rewards do you expect when you blog?

If you are blogging for business, you may expect, at some level, that writing articles will lead to new leads, sales, and new business. My strong belief is that  you WILL see those benefits, though you may not be able to connect the dots neatly. (Blog post, lead, new work.)

Instead, your articles will help you build your relationships with current and potential customers. Your blog posts will help people get to know you and your expertise.

If writing is not a reward to you (I am not deluded to think that everyone enjoys blogging the way I do), I encourage you to use my story as help in considering — and FINDING — your own WHY for blogging.

Once you have found your why, go one more step and outline the rewards. What rewards do you look for when blogging?

I’d love to hear your thoughts. Share them here, or join the discussion on Facebook.

How will you spend your 12 minutes today? 

Becky Robinson

I am the founder/CEO of the Weaving Influence team, the author of Reach: Creating the Biggest Possible Audience for Your Message, Book, or Cause, and the host of the Book Marketing Action Podcast. I’m a wife and mom of three kids, and I enjoy running, reading, writing, coffee, and dark chocolate.