What kind of blog are you?
June 25th, 2008 by Toblerone
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The blogosphere is growing in leaps and bounds, and it's showing no signs of stopping. It has become a beautiful community of friends, an even playing field for successful networking, and a veritable gold mine for advertisers. But because there are so many blogs out there, the party is teeming with people, and it's getting harder to find the people you're looking for.
Photo by Sophie Saller
The blogs who find their crowd are the ones with a laser-sharp focus. In blog-speak, it's simply called a niche.
What is your blog's niche? Does it even have a niche? Or does it, but you don't have a clue how to define it?
Let me be bold and say that there are an awful lot of blogs out there that are trying to do too many things. They're trying to update faraway friends about their family, to change their reader's political persuasion, to share their passion for their newfound hobby of hamster-watching, and to make money.
Writing about everything and nothing is fine if blogging is purely for fun - it's a great creative outlet to have a place to wax poetic and spill out your brain's stream of consciousness.
But if you're trying to make money, or even just be the go-to resource for a specific topic, you need to narrow, narrow, narrow that focus so that it stands on the head of a pin.
You want your readers to know what you're about. You want them to identify your blog as a place about something specific. It's been said that you have four seconds to tell a new visitor to your site what you're about. Does your blog do that?
Let me emphasize again - it's perfectly okay for your blog to simply be about you if blogging is your hobby. Go with it! Make it your little corner of happiness. But if you want to earn a few dollars on the side with your blog, it will come a bit easier if you find your niche.
In essence, I'm saying that blogs usually come in two main categories:
• a Cat Blog - This term comes from Seth Godin, who coined it to mean a blog about your personal life. You share the funny things your toddler says, the latest with building your new backyard deck, your cat. A cat blog. This isn't meant to be an insulting term - I have a cat blog. But here, you aren't really terribly concerned with things like ranking well with Google via SEO, or getting a big subscriber base. You just want to keep your parents and old college roommate in the know about your family's daily mishaps. And that's great.
• a Niche Blog - This is a blog about something specific. These are blogs about cooking, or kid's crafts, or personal finance. I also have a niche blog, which is about life hacks for home managers. This is often where you want to do things like rank well with Google, earn a side income, and build up your readership. You're passionate about a particular topic and you just have to get your thoughts out there. This kind of blog can definitely be fun and laid-back, for sure, but in some ways, it's also a business.
There's nothing that says you can't have two, or three, or eight blogs - so instead of making your one blog about everything you care about, why not have several different ones? That way, if your hamster-watching blog takes off, you can be the expert blog in your niche, the go-to resource for all things hamster. The grandparents get the grandkid photos, and the hamster enthusiasts get the, well, hamsters.
So what kind of blog are you? Decide what you're about, narrow it down to that topic, and go after it.
As I write about blogging here on Blissfully Domestic, I want to be a resource for you. I want to know your blogging questions! I want to throw out my ideas for both cat blogs and niche blogs. And I want to help you find more enjoyment in the blogging process. The blogosphere really is a blessing, especially for the stay-at-home mom, who now has a place to network and socialize with other adults from home. Please drop me a line anytime with your blogging thoughts or questions at simplemomblog[at]gmail[dot]com.
Some helpful resources to get you started on improving your blog:
Blogging Basics 101
ProBlogger
Daily Blog Tips
Skelliewag
North x East
"Toblerone" is an American mom living overseas with two kids under 3, and she writes about life hacks for home managers at Simple Mom. She also has a deeply passionate affinity for coffee made in her French press.
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June 25th, 2008 at 12:50 pm
Excellent summary. I didn't know I had a "cat blog" until now. But I'm happy with it, and I think my readers know what to expect.
June 25th, 2008 at 1:00 pm
Thanks, threeundertwo. If you're happy with your blog, then that's all that matters! And I think your readers will be able to tell.
June 25th, 2008 at 2:30 pm
Great post! I would define my blog as a boutique blogazine
We cover fashion, decor, and living, from a light green perspective. No politics! That sets us apart from a lot of the green blogs, so I end up meeting people from design and style blogs, too. The more the merrier!
June 25th, 2008 at 2:52 pm
@Sara - Just checked out your blog. Great niche!
June 25th, 2008 at 3:06 pm
what a great post! the recources you posted are really helpful! thank you for sharing. i blog mostly because it's a lot of fun and i like how i, as a part time sahm, can find friends all over the world. anyway, blogging tips are always welcome to me.
June 25th, 2008 at 3:26 pm
Interesting post. I have one blog that is simply about my life and another (just started) about my journey into becoming debt-free. I'm not so concerned about promoting the first blog but what would be a good way to promote the personal finance blog. I'm not giving advice on it, just simply journaling what is going on financially in my life.
June 25th, 2008 at 3:42 pm
Hmmm…this has me thinking! Am I trying to be too many things to too many people?
I blog about my life - which includes my family, my faith, life here in N Ireland and a lot of digital scrapbooking and photos. It is however called "welcome to my world" and all of these combine to make my world. I do have a separate photoblog, but use that for sporadic posting of a-photo-a-day challenge.
I did do a reader poll a while back, and while I thought most of my visitors/commentors were digi-scrappers, and really only interested in that, the majority enjoyed the photos/family stuff/northern ireland stuff!! Since then I seem to have more readers who are mom bloggers.
I think if I put them in separate blogs they would all be a bit boring, and enjoy the mix. Would love your opinion. Thanks
June 25th, 2008 at 4:36 pm
Great post! I have only recently started to think along these lines as the line of personal blogs I read is merging with the niche ones. I think mine is a mixture because I blog about what I think about or am into- except my running blog, which I feel I update more because it IS one topic. Lots to think about here…
Question though, what would you do if you had been blogging for a couple years and want to change the "voice" of your blog and possibly how you write? Would you start from scratch and hope your readers follow to the new you, or just incorporate it on the existing one?
June 25th, 2008 at 6:46 pm
Great topic and post! Definitely things to consider as you blog!
Thanks for the great tips!
Melissa
June 26th, 2008 at 1:56 am
@celticbuff - Sounds like you were where I was just a few months ago. I wanted to monetize my blog, but didn't feel like it made sense to do that with my personal family updates. That's why I went with two blogs. Let me know if you have specific questions as you write!
@JanMary - If you think your readers (and you) enjoy more of a mix, then I say go for it. Ultimately, you should do what keeps your fire going. Decide what YOU enjoy, and your writing will show it.
@Hannah - Maybe that's a sign to venture out with another blog? I suppose it depends on what it is you're writing about. Is your voice changing because of the topic? Or is it still about the same basic thing? If it's mostly about the same stuff, I wouldn't worry about it - the people who want to know what you write about will stay.
June 26th, 2008 at 2:00 am
Oh, I should add that people are also adding questions and ideas at the post on my blog, if that should jog any of your ideas:
http://simplemom.net/blissfully-domestic/
June 26th, 2008 at 6:25 pm
I barely read blogs and never thought I'd have one…until a few months ago. On a forum where I'm a member, I started a decluttering challenge with my friends. Someone suggested, OK urged, me to blog about our 365 Days of Decluttering Challenge. I'm doing it for my friends but find it's fun too.
September 10th, 2008 at 7:24 am
I have only been blogging for about 9 months but I am crazily addicted to writing and have over 300 posts so far. I definitely have a "cat blog" that I use to keep my very spread out family glued together. I want to have my blog printed and bound at the end of the year and have heard about blurb. Are there any others that you think are better?
I am working hard on getting my niche blog going as well. I love the way you write in plain English that I (a person over 50 without the computer gene) can understand. I just got a new Mac and I have a hard time with the propeller head directions one often finds in the manuals and online helps.
September 16th, 2008 at 4:58 pm
I knew I had a "cat blog" but I was calling it a "personal" blog! Not being a cat fan, I'll stick w/ that term! LOL
I'm really enjoying reading your thoughts and advice!
September 20th, 2008 at 11:16 am
This is a fabulous post. This is what I needed to read right now while I am a fledging blogger. I like my "cat" blog for now, while I work out the how-tos of blogging to evetually build a "niche" blog. It sounds like I am on the right track, but most of all, I am happy with what I am doing!
September 22nd, 2008 at 8:40 am
Well, well. A Kat with a cat blog. Guess it is suiting
Though it does sound like I am blogging about an overly loved feline! ha ha
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