Have you ever tried to use an old petrol lawnmower? Some people can make starting it look so easy – a quick, sure pull on the cord and the mower hums into life.

Maybe it’s just me and my lack of upperbody strength, but I have many, many false starts before I can get the engine to turn. Pull, stutter. Pull, stutter… As often as not, nothing happens.

What does this have to do with a blog? Starting this blog reminds me most of all of my attempts to start the lawnmower. By now (nearly two years in!) I should have a beautiful blog full of well-crafted articles but instead I have one so-so article published and a folder of half-started drafts and ideas on my PC.

In the grand old tradition of starting afresh at the beginning of a new year, I decided to give my blogging motor another pull on the cord. Why not just give it another go?

Maybe I will finally write and publish some regular posts, but no promises. I’d like to think that I’ll have the opportunity to write something once a week, and this time next year will look back on 50+ well crafted articles about topics that interest me with a full sense of satisfaction. I’m making the process of creating the goal this time.

Why blog in the first place?

Not an easy question to answer. I don’t especially like putting myself forward so it’s not about making a big name for myself. It’s more about the satisfaction of having achieved something creative, and getting the chance to write something that I find interesting and that is hopefully different from a lot of what else is out there.

Writing this blog will challenge me to come up with new ideas, research concepts and theories and bring them together in a cohesive whole for a post.

In my work, writing for the all-important search engine is essential. Here, I want to write about what I find interesting and not follow any rules or guidelines or research the best keywords to target. If I have a manifesto, at its core is freeing myself from the tyranny of the algorithm and just enjoying the process.

Obviously, this is counter-intuitive for a blog with ‘marketing’ in its title. It’s definitely not an approach recommended to build a site with high traffic volumes. But since I spend my days worrying about keyword volumes and ensuring my target keyword is in my H1 and opening paragraphs the requisite number of times, this approach was draining my enthusiasm for writing my posts.

So if SEO doesn’t bother you, why write a public blog rather than a diary?

And we’re back to the challenge. Posting to a blog (however obscure) means I’m writing for someone – there is the potential to reach an audience. A second challenge is setting up the website: one of the best ways to learn is to get on a do something (the other way is to teach it or explain it to someone else. These are all topics I intend to explore in later posts, by the way).

So who is this blog for?

This blog is for anyone who is interested in asking questions about perceived wisdom in the world of marketing and business more generally, and who values curiosity over following a set path.