In a previous post (What Should I Do With My Fitness Blog) I wrote a bit about my frustrations and indecisions with said blog. It’s still there in perpetual idle acting as a digital business card – a sort of self-owned LinkedIn but so much less noise and clutter.
Lately, I’ve been thinking about pull-starting it once again. Maybe I could make something out of it after all. I write about fitness on a daily basis for many other sites, so why not my own?
One big matzo ball of a challenge is finding the time away from freelancing. A little nagging bug in the back of my brain is always whispering that any free time I have could be dedicated to writing more for my clients. But this is more of a mechanical challenge. I just need to get more organized and disciplined with my time.
The bigger challenge, and one that is much more intangible, is the question I often ask myself without even thinking.
Does the world need more fitness content?
Freelance versus freedom
Normally in the fitness freelance world most clients will either send you topics or approve submitted topics created by you. Either way, the site has control, which is great. It’s actually less of a burden to colaborate or get assigned topics to write about.
On the other hand, writing for yourself in more of a business sense (as in the case of my fitness blog) is a different animal. You have free reign to write what you want with no word counts, subtopics, or promotions. It’s just you and your old friend, the keyboard.
The challenge I face is the pesky question above. Now, I’ve been round and round with editors, web designers, site owners, etc. on the fact that I’m overthinking and am a bit of a self-proclaimed purist. What I mean is that I look at things from a world view and truly think that sometimes the world has enough content. Period.
What the heck can I add to the conversation? What could I possibly say or do that would cut through all the noise?
Teacher versus participant
With my freelance writing I’ve mostly come from a teacher perspective. I am there to teach, inform, and inspire others to act. The fitness industry can be very nuts and bolts so writing becomes technical regarding programming, nutrition and diets, and recovery. As a university lecturer I go into autopilot when I write. I teach and explain concepts, ideas, and principles. Pretty simple really.
Conversely, I have toyed with the idea for my blog to come more from a participant perspective. One that pits me as someone who trying new things, journaling my progress and failures, and discovering what is working for me and what isn’t.
Again, that evil gremlin creeps out from behind and tells me that the web is full of that too. What could I possibly contribute?
Yes, I am my own worst enemy.
Does the world need more fitness content?
Things I do know:
- I know everyone is unique and has their own story to tell.
- I know that there’s always room to tell my own story.
- If it strikes a chord in me, why not tell the world?
- Mark Twain once said, “Write what you know.”
- I would only want to create quality, to help others, and be a part of something bigger than me.
Things I don’t want to be:
- Another gym bro taking shirtless selfies.
- A slimy salesman.
- Making another workout video (yawn!)
- Pretending I’m something I’m not.
- Feeling selfish.
Over to you. Do you feel like the internet is saturated beyond comprehension? Is there any more room for more content? How do you feel about the content you consume? Do you curate your consumption?
Let me know in the comments.
Brad Borland 