Think about it for a moment… WHY do you blog?

There are obvious reasons. Like blogging for money. Or blogging for authority. Or blogging for learning, and sharing things you’ve learned.

Money. Power. Wisdom.

And then there are deeper reasons.

To me, blogging is intimately tied up with my work for kids born with congenital heart disease. By blogging, I’ve raised awareness and funds for my non-profit, the Dr.Mani Children Heart Foundation. The annual Heart Kids Blogathon has become a permanent feature of my annual online itenerary since 2003.

But there are even deeper reasons why I blog (and maybe you do, too).

Influence. And attention.

As a blogger, like you, I seek to spread my ideas to a wide audience. And the first step to it is gaining your trust enough to have your attention.

At its core, this is the real reason or purpose behind my blogging - I’m blogging for Influence & Attention.

I’ve done well at achieving these goals. When I focused my blog narrowly on the niche of online business, ‘make money online’ and infopreneurs, I had the attention of several thousand readers including top names in the field.

When I expanded this into the broader arena of ’social media’, I’ve shaken virtual hands with gurus and demi-Gods of the specialty.

This attention translates into influence.

Here’s one little example from yesterday. I blogged about a 10-year old girl who is changing the world in her own way this holiday season.

Within minutes over 100 people visited her site - and spread the word. Her hit counter went from 160 to 1,638 in 24 hours! That’s influence - in a small way.

It all happens here - on a blog.

And I’ve learned enough to teach you about doing it too. That’s the ‘theme’ for the months ahead… Blogging for Influence & Attention.

Would you like to hear what I have to say about it? Is there anything in particular you’d like to see explored in detail? Got any thoughts and suggestions to offer? Please let me know.