There’s one question you need to ask yourself before you start blogging:

1. Do I want to blog?

That’s it. End of story.

Forget about some narrowly-focused questionnaire that makes blogging sound hard or serious or demanding.

Do I want to blog?

Suppose the next time you’re in a bookstore you see a journal. You think to yourself, “Journaling might be fun. I had a diary at summer camp. Ms. Provansha made us journal in high school composition class. I wonder if I might like it now.” So you buy the journal. You take it home and you write in it. Or not. No big deal.

Now imagine going to that same bookstore and seeing that same journal. This time a poster next to the shelf of journals challenges, “4 Questions to Ask Yourself Before You Start Journaling.”

1. Can I write well?
2. Am I passionate about a particular topic?
3. Am I willing to purchase the best equipment to write?
4. Can I commit to serious writing?

Um, let’s see… No, no, no, and no. You leave the journal on the shelf and exit the store thinking, “I guess I’m just not cut out to journal.”

Shame on that bookstore. Not everyone who buys a journal is angling for a book deal. Likewise, not everyone considering blogging is planning to chase the advertising dollar.

Do you want to blog? Go for it!