Separating the personal from the professional

I was just wondering how many of the writers here have ‘secret’ or otherwise distinct identities on the internet? The issue of pen names is debated regarding different genres of writing etc., but here I am talking more about the personal ‘you’ vs. the ‘you’ that writes for money.

One example: if you have a personal blog, do you use your real name or do your write under a pseudonym – keeping your online identities separate as far as possible?

Does using your real name restrict you?

Do you struggle with multiple online personalities?

 

I've made the decision to be me on all fronts. I understand that some of the things I say on Facebook, forums, Twitter, etc. may not be things that some potential clients want to hear....but the question is, do I really want those folks as clients?

For my career to work, I have to be able to be myself at all times. I don't want to be schmoozey, plastic, fake person in front of a client and someone else in front of friends. To live a happy, well-adjusted life, I need clients that are comfortable with me or at least are willing to look over anything they don't like in order to take advantage of my writing skills. There is a difference between being professional (which I highly respect in client communication) and being fake.

Too often, I think we all are under the impression that we have to fit in a little box of conformity to be successful. I disagree.

 

I completely understand where you are coming from. Also, I think that an important part of online business is the personal side which more and more businesses are choosing to bring out in their employees (using Twitter etc.). Obviously some of these aren't completely genuine, but it would hard to maintain a complete act all of the time.

However, what if you wanted to write a personal blog - ranting, complaining, just telling of your daily life. Would you just choose to avoid being too over the top, or would you put it all out their for your clients to (potentially) see?

Is that just what you should do to keep your work and personal life separate, or do the same rules not apply regarding online business?

Note - this is a reply to Y. L. Prinzel but also general questions for anyone to answer

 

If you can generalize your rants and use them as something productive and helpful to readers, I don't think that's a problem. Like when I do my "Mistakes I've Made" blog posts. They're embarrassing mistakes- but the fact that I acknowledge them and learn from them, if anything should do more to bolster potential client's confidences than the people who claim they know everything, have the answer to everything and...whatever else those marketing, social media, MLM self-proclaimed experts say.

Ranting about your personal life, again, can be done in a way that everyone can identify with and is not necessarily a turn off. If you are constantly fighting with your husband, for instance, and you blog about it- it really does nothing more than make you boring. It probably won't hurt you with clients. If you drink a lot and talk about your partying you may be seen as irresponsible so, in that case, it might be better to have a pseudonym.

Either way, you should do what makes you feel comfortalbe Ms. Penny

 

There seems to be much debate among writers and web professionals about personal hobby and rainy day income producing sites vs professional business sites vs forum identities. I've never really been a fan of creating a fake me just to be able to hide public comments from potential clients.

Several of my rainy day/hobby income sites have now brought me clients with similar types of websites. I started the sites for fun and hopefully a small income; too bad I did not realize how they could so positively impact my writing business sooner. Had I hid my ownership of those sites, I might not have several of my best clients.

For most online writers, their biggest portfolio pieces are their own website and their blog. Why would you want to waste the potential of a blog to both drive business to your professional site as well as back up your pro site? So you can post a few personal rants about life?

Take what makes you mad and turn it into a selling feature. Turn "I hate XYZ company" into an article on customer service that shows how well you treat your customers.

The irony about pseudonyms is that they rarely remain unrecognized and with a little research people will probably figure out who you are. IMHO, the risks far outweigh the rewards. It's just too easy to make a mistake and give yourself away.

 

You make some good points YMC. I would definitely use any blog as a portfolio of my work if it was a topic I just wanted to write anyway - after all they are the most interesting to write and often the most interesting to read because of the enthusiasm that goes into them.

I guess I am talking about personal blogs where you don't want to write what you 'should' write, it's more like your own space (almost like a journal). Do any of you guys have something like that? I guess it comes down to a matter of privacy in this case rather than being 'false' when using your real name or having something to hide etc. And yes this could include completely mundane blog posts, or really deep and personal posts.

Though I completely understand the point about people being able to figure out your pseudonym. If someone wanted to know then they could easily find out who you are, by checking your websites domain or simply looking at the trail you leave around anyway. I really don't like the idea of hiding my real life identity, and dealing with multiple online personalities, but I don't know if I want to give up the freedom of a completely personal and semi-anonymous outlet.

Thanks for all the opinions, very interesting

 

I'm not a real private person by nature. There isn't much about me that I'm not willing to share, so I don't know that it would ever be an issue. Anything extremely private that I would deem confidential I wouldn't want to blog about anyway.

If you've already developed important work relationships using the pen name, then you wouldn't need to worry about it because all of those people know your dark secrets already If you haven't, then it shouldn't be too hard to create a work persona/name to use for acquiring clients.

 

Hehe good point about knowing the dark secrets already!

 

Let me ask you a question. For what purpose would your "journal" reside online? Are you planning on sharing it with anyone or monetizing it in some way? Seems like if you need a place to privately journal, the old fashioned variety is your best bet. Or, I suppose you could create a password protected website and only give access to friends and family.

 

I'm talking about personal blogs that are open to everyone, but serve a different function than making money/ writing about a hobby etc. There are many online who have blogs which are almost like journals and still highly personal, but also connect with others online. I was wondering if anyone has sites like this, whether they feel restricted or don't care about what they write?

Perhaps my question doesn't make sense, I'm really just talking about going online for personal reasons and socialising, and going online for business reasons and networking. Depending on how private you are/ how personal things get - do they complement each other?

For example, a writer may write emotionally charged poetry (for enjoyment's sake only) which they can't help but link to their personal life, which could be part of a personal blog. They may wish to separate this from the rest of their online identity, or not.

The reason I am asking is because it is interesting to see how people manage themselves. At the end of the day, putting something on the internet leaves it there for everyone to see for a long time. Some put everything out there, whilst some are more conservative.

 

I guess it depends on your personality. I'm very big on honesty and transparency, so it doesn't make sense for me to have multiple persona online.

I prefer to be me. It's easier too.

There are some downsides: if someone really starts hating you online for whatever reason, they can follow you more easily and you won't be able to hide so much. Some of my friends are much more paranoid and would never give any hint of a public information or any way to connect their various accounts.

But I'm not like that. It sometimes also pays of. No later than today, a journalist found one of my posts on an unrelated place and managed to contact me. Transparency sometimes works to your advantage!

--
blog.fairsoftware.net : Fair Revenue Sharing for Bloggers: Pageviews or Equity?

 

alain - I think paranoia probably is one of the main factors that leads people to become cautious. I have never encountered such a situation in my online life, but I have heard of it happening. But most of the topics that you might blog about on a day to day basis are probably safe enough to avoid any crazy stalking situations (I hope!).

I think transparency in a lot of ways is easier - not having to always check yourself. It also helps to be personal online where so many are anonymous. I find this whole question so tough to answer (you can probably tell)!

 

I have no problems sharing things about me. But of course, I also choose what to let my clients and friends read because they are different sets of audience. Like I wouldn't bore my friends by blogging about freelancing, and I wouldn't tell my clients that I got piss-drunk last night, not because I don't want them to know more about me per se, but I just don't see any point telling them about it.

 

So...what did you decide?

 

Still working on it! I think I would rather just be me. Whether this affects business or not, I guess I will find out! I think I'll go with a cd928 style approach. And btw Y.L., loved your blog posts about your mistakes - worked really well.

 

I do not have a secret identity online. I've always used my name and have always been clear on where I stand.

But for me, it's not just online because I write a political opinion column for the city daily newspaper and it's often quite controversial because I take radical stances. So if I'm going to be "out there" right in my own town, I might as well be online too, right?

I have a similar view to Y.L. in that being who I am can be an effective screening process for prospective clients.

 

Some great points in this thread.

I think it is important to be yourself no matter what kind of business you are involved in. Obviously I wouldn't post or say things about myself that I wouldn't want others to know or get the wrong idea about. But if you can be yourself and be completely transparent in your personal and professional ventures, people will tend to respect your authenticity more and view you as genuine. If that turns prospective "clients" off, then you shouldn't be involved with them anyways. Be involved with people who want to be involved with you and you'll have more success, whether that success is defined by money or not.

 

A great example is Frank Kern. If you haven't watched his videos, go to http://masscontrolsite.com/blog. The guy is a complete goofball and uses foul language in a lot of his presentations. He's not afraid to be himself and yet he has managed to become a very successful marketer worth millions.

 

Thanks Debbie and jrailsback. It is such a complicated issue when you get thinking about it. But, I think life online would be made more complicated by multiple personalities!

 

Interesting read. After a number of bad experiences with content writers I stumbled on this place and keep coming back. I spend so much time reviewing directory submissions it is a distinct pleasure to read posts and blogs by you writer folk.

The reading of posts and following a few links to examples caused me to contact one of the regulars here and that contact led to us 'working together' on a project. The job has required much more research time than anticipated and once completed she may never want to talk to me again.

Bottom line is being yourself is the proper thing to do. I am a firm believer in the 'what you see is what you get' method even though politics has been known to cause some to ignore me. There is a sub-forum at one place begun in my honor where users must opt in.

Your personal work is likely one of the best selling tools you have just because the true self shines as you don't have to make the client happy by satisfying their requirements.