Lately (discounting of course the last couple of weeks in which I have been in a ‘price of secondary school uniform shocker’ induced coma) I have been blogging like a bastard.
It’s official. I am on blogging fire.
My bloggy cup runneth over, in fact I do believe the blog gods are looking down upon me favourably and smilingly once more.
I have gone from the dreaded – and what I thought might be irreversible – bloggers block to suddenly having ideas again. Where did they come from all of a sudden? I don’t have a clue but neither do I wish to argue. For the last month or so I have no longer had to drag posts forth, kicking and screaming as though ripped from my chest using every last ounce of my will and determination. No, this last month has seen the words fairly racing from my brain to my finger tips and effortlessly tumbling out onto the screen – not in a messy nonsensical jumble – but in a smooth, easy flowing order. And with this new sense of energy and effortlessness has come a renewed enthusiasm, not only for writing but for reading as well. Now all the children are back at school, I have more time to devote to both which pleases me greatly.
When I first began blogging I subscribed pretty much straight away to Problogger – not because I wanted particularly to be a professional blogger – but because for a total beginner like myself it was chock full of information about how to blog. Problogger taught me loads, from how to submit my blog to Technorati, to how to deal with really negative comments, all the way through to how to effectively engage with readers and other bloggers. I accept that I am perhaps not the best poster girl for Problogger if what you are after is an enormous following, and actually to be fair I don’t read it much these days now that I’m fairly confident I know the basic ropes, but in the beginning I did find it extremely useful.
One thing from Problogger that for some reason has always stuck in my head, is a vlog post (I can’t remember by who) that spoke of how important it is to have a niche, or at least a distinct category into which your blog can easily slot. The idea was that from there you can then work on becoming the best and/or most unique blogger within your chosen category or niche. Actually I think the reason I particularly remember this piece of advice is two-fold: firstly because the vlogger had a strange habit of pronouncing niche, “neetchy” – I now cannot look at that word in its written form without reading it neetchy so thanks for that Mr Vlogger-man – and secondly because my blog has always (both here and at my old Blogger site, Single Parenthood… Tales from the front line) jumped untidily from one subject to another, thus neatly avoiding any obvious pigeon-holing.
Now I have no intention of changing the way I blog in an attempt to increase my popularity (I’d quickly become bored if I stuck rigidly to just one subject matter and anyway I’m perfectly happy with the lovely readers I’ve got) but I do sometimes find myself wondering if perhaps this vlogger was right, and that I might enjoy more ‘success’ if I narrowed my focus – if I just concentrated on the ‘mummy’ aspect of my blog for example, or on the ‘personal’, or the ‘recovery’ posts. Perhaps my blog, and others like it, are the virtual equivalents of a jack of all trades, and therefore masters of none.
I do also realise that for some, blog posts about blogging tend to result in a loss of the will to live, and if this is the case with you dear reader then I can only apologise for not having warned you earlier. But I’m interested in how other bloggers feel about the importance of sticking within clearly defined boundaries when it comes to subject matter. Do you feel that it is important that your readers know what to expect from you? Do you consider certain subjects to be off-limits? Has there ever been something that you would have liked to blog about, but didn’t because it wasn’t in keeping with your usual fare?
Let me know what you think.
I say go the variety, girl. There is already a consistency with your blog: we’ve come to ‘know’ you through your tapestry of experiences and viewpoints; you have a distinctive voice that’s very ‘Gappy’; we hear you as we read along. Think of peeps like Charlie Brooker, David Mitchell, India Knight, commenting on all manner of odds and sods, each in their own wonderfully idiosyncratic humorous way. I love that you can talk poignantly about mummyhood, alcoholism and the next post toss us a funny take on something or let us in on something that simply makes you go ‘grrr..’ Just a thought!
T.
I think variety is your niche. Well that’s what I’ve been telling myself. Obviously if you were a gardening blogger and you suddenly started blogging about child birth that might upset the apple cart, but as a female blogger blogging about life, then you’re supposed to be diverse.
I’ve always regretted not having a neetchy. But I know myself and I know that I don’t respond well to rules. If I’d said I’m going to be a book blogger and nothing else, then what would have happened to all my posts mocking the Germans or my posts about dresses or writing, for that matter?
I think your mix is lovely and it reflects you and that is enough. You could always start a second niche blog if you wanted to, but I really think that very, very few blogs become famous for their particular niche.
I like a bit of variety myself. So I reckon it all comes down to how you define a successful blog. For some people it is all about number of readers or comments, for others it’s about how often they post. Do what you like doing, ’tis your blog after all (and I love it so please don’t change it!)
In terms of my own blog I’ve never really limited myself to what I’ve written about – aside from not getting too personal or naming names (when I’m slagging someone off). Other than that I feel my blog is totally open and I’ll write about whatever is buzzing around my head at a given moment – whether it be news, social comment, personal experience, TV, music or films or just some random thoughts. Possibly my blog suffers from being too open – it would be difficult to market probably – but then as I’m not really selling anything other than my words I’m not too worried about that.
I was talking to another blogger about this very thing not so long ago. She is a very successful writer and so has a very clearly defined niche, but I think I started off writing about being a single parent and have drifted somewhat into a more varied range of topics. I have wondered about this, and whether readers need to be able to define a blog but as of yet haven’t decided on what to do about it! I think I’ll just stick to my pick’n'mix approach for now.
Your niche is that you’re a terrific writer. That’s why I read your blog
How exactly do bastards blog?
I do think that a niche helps, but I really enjoy your blog anyway, so it’s really the writing that counts.
Lol, it’s a British expression – if you’ve been doing something ‘like a bastard’, it means you’ve been working very hard at it.
I have no niche either. Yes, I class myself as a “parent blogger” but that is mainly because there is a great support network underpinning that group of people. I view my blog as my online portfolio – a showcase of the variety of writing that I can produce.
I really like your pick and mix style. I think you could staightjacket yourself if you limit yourself to one thing. I think maybe a “voice” emerges which unites all posts rather than one theme on the best blogs. Personally I hate to be pigeonholed.
And you’re right, you are on fire!
I have no niche (or at least I hope not) but that may explain why I have no following!
I have two blogs; on my parenting blog I’ll blog about pretty much anything, as long as I think other mums will want to read it; on my journalism blog I blog about politics more openly perhaps than I do on my parenting blog. The only subject I don’t touch on either is religion, and that’s simply because I think it can be dangerous and I won’t expose my family to that kind of risk. In my journalist life I’ve been threatened by neo-fascists in the past and that’s blimmin’ scary; although it won’t (and hasn’t) shut me up, and certainly doesn’t stop me expressing my views on my journalism blog, it has made me aware that you do have to be a bit careful, which is why I think it’s probably best I don’t discuss religion on either. However… I think it’s really important not to pigeon-hole yourself as a blogger because then it makes it more difficult to write about anything you want to.
I do limit myself to things that can be classified as lessons I learned from life. Some days I think things would be easier to just write whatever I wanted to without fitting into that particular “niche”. Those are the days I go looking for somewhere to guest post my other thoughts.
I think you should do whatever makes YOU happy.
I started with a niche (twins and stuff) and am sort of back to it, but the past year has been a bit mad and I feel like I got sucked into more of a mum blogging malarkey type inspired blog, but I think I’ll feel better about it if I return to the theme I started with. I also have writing related stuff there which I hope people find useful and media requests etc but it’s probably all bollocks really, I think having a niche is as important as you want it to be, but I went into blogging for reasons connected with my job and linked with being a mum as opposed to being a mum blogger. This may well be the worst most rambly comment ever and I am very sorry and now I’m going to get the washing in, cheers.
I thought long and hard about the whole niche thing when I started too, but then I figured that was way too self-obsessed and vain, as it assumed that I somehow wanted to blog purely for an audience. So I ended up being self-obsessed and vain and just talking about stuff that interested me! On the other hand, as you know I have also started a second blog based around my interest in interior design. As I am not an expert on the subject by any means, merely interested, I am never going to be the “best” blog in that category. To me it doesn’t really matter as I use it more as an outlet for pictures and observations that interest me.
As for your blog – as Deerbaby said, I love the variety of your blog too – not knowing what might come up next. It keeps it fresh and interesting. Keep stoking the fire!!
“I do sometimes find myself wondering if perhaps this vlogger was right, and that I might enjoy more ‘success’ if I narrowed my focus…”
I find myself wondering the same thing from time to time, even though I’ve never been to diligent as to actively seek out blogging tips (perhaps I ought to – I’m lazy you see!) I think also because my blog has changed quite a bit since it started, I do wonder if ‘older’ readers are disillusioned with it. I’ve come to the conclusion though that I’m not a nitchy blogger in the traditional sense – I want to cover a range of topics and write however I like, which varies from day to day. So I’ve actually done the opposite: I deliberately cultivate variety now. For instance, I try not to write too many posts on the same topic one after the other and if that’s what’s been happening I will deliberately break it up with a personal anecdote type post, or something I’ve had in drafts for a while. I guess because I’m conscious that my small readership is diverse and I don’t want anyone to get bored if I stick to the stuff they’re least interested in for too long. Also I don’t have the discipline to cultivate a nitchy in the first place, so I work with what I’ve got!
I really enjoy the variety of topics on this blog. I guess the constant element is your style and particular perspective on things. That’s what I look forward to – seeing what it is interesting to you on a particular day and what you think about that.
My own blogging is pretty much on one particular topic but that’s because I only started the blog in order to talk about that particular thing (not looking for a topic to blog about).
Occasionally I do mention things that aren’t directly related. But then I figure, hey, it’s my blog and it’s pretty easy for readers (all five of them) to scroll past an entry if they’re not interested.
I think I started out being adamant about my “niche”, my place and my purpose for writing on my blog. Several years on, though, and much of my rants written out, I find I want to go with the flow and write about what concerns/interests/ignites the passion in me. If this sometimes doesn’t fit with what long-time readers have felt my niche should be (or was), then I have ruffled them. They no longer comment, I no longer really care! I cannot be the damaged person many people seem to be looking for. Ooops….. ranting. AGAIN! What is it about your posts that makes my comments sound so irate?! LOL. Did I even answer your question/s?
My blog is limited to Italian food and travel, as it is part and parcel of the supperclub that I’ve been running this year in London. On the one hand, it makes it easier to stick with that theme and I think it also keeps me from blabbering on about what I ate for breakfast (oops maybe a bad example in my case, but you know what I mean). On the other hand it is *very* focused and sometimes I’d like to at least throw in stuff about *other* things I cooked or places I went, but it seems to contradict the mission of that particular blog.
As for yours, I enjoy seeing the fullness of you as a person, not just as a mum, or as a recovery story. I love the humanity of it.
I think you should write only about things that fit inside a mason jar.
Or, write your heart out.
I think the best blogs are by people who blog, essentially, for themselves. When bloggers start trying to predict what people want from them and pander to that, they get really boring.
Write your heart out and let the people come to you.
Your USP is your Gappyness, Gappy! Your tone is always consistent, even though you write on a wide variety of issues, and, being a lazy-arse fence-sitter myself, I’m always curious to hear what your opinion on something will be. You tell it like it is!
I was wondering something very similar myself. You see, I write about travel, and mummy stuff, and sometimes my travel stuff is amazing experiences, sometimes it’s comedy, sometimes it’s a whinge, and I think it’s a melting pot. As in, for a casual reader, you oscillate between funny stuff and intense stuff, so if you subscribe on the basis of one piece, the next might not at all be what you expect…
Blogging is, however, a personal medium, so I think you should continue to write what you want. I enjoy your writing immensely precisely because of the variety, and the levels that you expose.
For that matter, I think SEO is hideous. Worse than neetchy…