Should you worry about your competition?

Alice Elliott

Whenever I try to persuade people to start or write in their blogs, one of the responses I get is: ‘Why should I bother, since everyone is doing the same?’

Certainly I have misgivings about my competition, so the feelings you may have of feeling worthless, being overpowered by others who seems to be more successful and increasingly productive than you, are felt by many. Don’t worry, you are not alone.

And even those that are fortunate enough to appear to be continuously winning with their ever-expanding achievements will have doubts. It is a natural phenomenon, unless you are truly pig-headed and self-centered. They say that entrepreneurs need to be like that if they are to succeed, but I don’t believe all of them really are.

Going back to the blogging, why should you worry about what others are saying, when your blog should come from you, and only you. What you write are your thoughts, ideas, observations – your way of presenting your business to the world, your slant on a scenario or your contribution to a conversation. It doesn’t matter what others have said in their blogs (unless you totally disagree, and then that’s a subject for one of your posts), your readers are going to want to see your side of the situation.

A blog is a mode of self-expression, so don’t feel you need to conform to fit in. By exploring your feelings and voicing your vision for your business, it will allow your readers and potential customers to find out more about you. If they like what they read, they will come back for more. Gradually you will learn to write what your audience wants, but still adapted to your style.

You don’t need to be the same as your competition. Wouldn’t the world be a boring place if all businesses were identical? – customers would have a hard time choosing which one to do business with. There will always be something that will set you apart, and if you are as good as you say you are, then you will inevitably succeed.