I’ve been blogging since 2005. Blogging has become second nature to me. It’s a discipline and a pleasure (yes, it may sound like an oxymoron, but it’s not)that continues to provide unexpected dividends. After starting and maintaining three blogs and helping to start others (both public and private), it always surprises me when I suggest blogging to others and encounter resistance.

So here are 9 myths about blogging, in no particular  order:

1. People will steal my ideas. More than anything, blogging is a way to improve upon your ideas, by inviting others into a conversation that can elucidate your own thinking. Blogs that are made public (you can have private blogs that are password protected) are a permanent record on the Internet of YOUR thinking. No one can change that.

2. It will take too much time. Published authors have said this to me. If you have time to write a book, you have time to blog. And even if you don’t have time to write a book, you have time to blog. I’m used to writing full length articles for my monthly ezine. Blogging is not that. It’s the one thought that gets triggered while reading the morning paper. It’s the funny story that a colleague told you in the hallway that sturck a chord. It’s a cool site that you stumbled upon while surfing the net. A blog post can be a single paragraph, with a link to something that got your juices flowing.

Under the myth of taking too much time is another concern–having to write every day. I don’t blog every day. I wish I could, as I enjoy it, but like everyone else, my schedule gets crowded. Typepad, the blogging platform that I use, provides the ability to schedule posts for future publication. I tend to write in spurts, several posts at a time, and schedule them to publish 2-3 times a week. This allows me to plan ahead when I’ll be on vacation or traveling for business.

And finally, blogging actually saves me time. It becomes an archive of tips and thoughts that I refer my clients to. It’s not uncommon for me to say to a client while working with them, "Oh, I blogged about this a couple of months ago. I’ll send you the link."

3. It will tie me down. I’ve heard individuals say, "I’ll need to keep on top of comments and respond in real-time." Yes and no. I’m guessing on the numbers but from what I’ve seen, 95% of blogs get less than a dozen comments per month. The top 100 blogs easily get that many in one day, and probably account for 80% of the comments left on blogs. (See Power Laws, Weblogs, and Inequality for more on this phenomenon.) So unless your blog becomes incredibly popular in a hurry (and wouldn’t that be a great problem to have?), the image of having to be tethered to your blog is a false one. Schedule your posts and monitor comments, but don’t get worked up over having to babysit your blog.

4. I can’t think of anything to write about. Because I am blogging, I tend to notice things more.  I start to think, "Hey, this would be a great blog topic." Like when I got my first notice ever for jury duty. Or when I got incensed about Oprah’s Big Give (which was one of my better posts.) Knowing that I have a forum for my thoughts tends to stimulate more thoughts. For those of you who have writer’s block, stop worrying about perfection or whether your readers will like what you write. Write for yourself, to express your passion or humor or confusion, about whatever that interests you. Blogging, first and foremost, is about creative expression.

5. People will misconstrue my ideas. Blogging is like talk radio—you control the agenda. So if you want to post five days in a row on one topic, to address misperceptions, you can do that. If you want to change the topic to something more productive, you can do that. Blogging is a conversation that serves to deepen everyone’s thinking. Confusion or misperception can be opportunities to deepen the conversation.

6. If I give it away for free, I can’t sell it later as part of a book. I hear this from professional writers and published authors. Writing is how they make their living, so why would they want to give it away? Recently, I blogged about the idea of "Giving Away More to Get More," Not only are there numerous examples of authors using this approach, but it’s happening with musicians as well (think Radiohead and Madonna.) Blogging is a way to give away enough for people to know they like you and to get interested in what else you have to offer.

7. It doesn’t lead to revenue generation. This points to one of the most important things about blogging. Blogging extends your network, creates trust, and generates new opportunities with like-minded individuals. Never mind increasing your "findability" with the search engines. If that doesn’t somehow lead to new revenue, I don’t know what does. People have called me up for coaching after reading my blog for years. A favorite story of mine is someone who commented on my blog from the U.K. who then connected me up to a close friend in Denver who also is a fantastic networker. That’s the power of blogging.

8. I need to be a geek to set one up. If technology intimidates you, hire someone to set up your blog. For the price of a weekend away, you can get up and running. If you are inclined to do it yourself, set aside an hour to explore one of the popular blogging services (e.g., Blogger or Typepad.) You’ll find out how user-friendly things have gotten. User interfaces keep getting better and better, so that if you are used to Word as a word processing tool, you can blog.

9. I have to be a good writer. It’s not about the writing. It’s about authentic communication on something you are passionate about. Blogging requires you to be honest and passionate about the topic. Readers could care less about credentials or experience. They care about whether you have something meaningful to say.

Still have resistance?  I’d love to hear what’s keeping you from blogging. Comment below and let’s start the conversation.