Top 10 Reasons I Blog

I don’t write this blog for other bloggers. I know they’re not my audience; although, for many, that’s their joie de vivre and that’s just fine. There’s a camaraderie among wine bloggers, and once a year they gather to enjoy each other’s company. Sometimes I wish I could join them; but, the reality is that I’m so busy writing that I can’t afford those hours away from being in service to others, in order to also make ends meet. I have a wine job, and my blog is a hobby… It’s not even an avocation, because I’ve got the vocation. In many ways, I’m out on a solitary limb, but that’s always been the script that I came into life to live, it seems.

Give me a task and I’ll throw myself into it. Half the time I wonder if anyone cares, the other half it’s just nose to the grindstone. Every so often… about once a year it seems… someone lets me know that what I’m doing has relevance, and that keeps me focused on this solitary path.

I was once again reminded of this as I clicked through on an incoming link on my back end this morning for Ebuzzing:  http://labs.ebuzzing.com/top-blogs/drinks?start=60

As a wine publicist, these are my Top 10 Reasons why I’m blogging about wine

1. Years ago, Bill Brinton of Charles Creek said to me, “Jo, this press release is such a great story. I wish you were a writer.”
   • CODE: This story should be published, but since it’s headed to writers, no one is going to plagiarize it.
   • This was pre-Web 2.0, so he was right… It wasn’t going to be published, just perhaps inspire someone to dig deeper.
2. When I studied HTML, we learned that the Web was going to become interactive; i.e., Web 2.0. Anything I wanted published, I’d have the power to self publish.
   1. Including my photography
   2. My second passion…
3. My blog is a place to store stories about wine writers.
   • If I tell a client that I want to send something to a certain writer, that person invariably asks, “Who’s that?”
   • Most winery owners can’t keep up with the plethora of wine writers, so I just give them a link that explains who that writer is.
4. I have clients who have found me, because of my blog.
   • CODE: I don’t have to convince them of my writing skills.
   • They also have decided ahead of time that they like my writing style. (Freedom to be me…)
5. Wine issues, this is my outlet…
   • Not Facebook or any other social media outlet, including Twitter…
   • But I engage in both to a lesser degree.
6. An inside edge to a lot of wine dealings proves to be interesting for others, and I like to share.
7. There are back stories to a lot of things going on.
   • Who doesn’t like a good, juicy tale?
   • And, who doesn’t love to share them?
8. I can occasionally use my blog to advertise events for which I or my clients are involved.
   • Roger King of Suisun Valley and I just had this exchange on Facebook, regarding Suisun Valley’s Uncorked event:
     • Jo: “I forgot to tell you that I blogged about it… Not this week, but last week. Happy to see another success story!”
     • Roger: “Jo Diaz, thank you so much, surely made many more aware. It was a great success and very special evening for our little sell out this week. Come a long way with your help.”
9. I can educate others on my blog, which has allowed me to cut down on press releases, but still get the word out.
   • I was turned onto this by one writer telling me that a San Francisco editor had told him, “I’m sick of all her press releases with nothing but statistics about how Petite Sirah has grown…”
   • Oops!
10. Writing started out as a hobby for me, so once in a while, I like to return to it for the pure joy of writing.
    • Occasionally, I’ve even posted a poem… under the tag of “Poet in Wine Country.” Not a lot, but sometimes I’m just inspired.
    • Sometimes I’m just inspired to share something new… like this blog post, inspired by Ebuzzing. Who knew that someone was watching?