I don’t post enough, I know. And the post you’re getting today is about posting. Stupid, but take it. You know you want it. Rawr.
So… I could probably write at least 3 blog posts a day based on the fabulous life I live and the earth-shattering thoughts I have… but I don’t. Because most of the things I think of to write about are probably stupid to most people: a new beer I discovered, a movie I just saw (or didn’t see because 20 minutes into the new Bond flick the Arena Grand got evacuated because of a nearby fire) or a conversation I just had. I don’t write about these things, because a) no one cares and b) more importantly, it’s not the “theme” of my blog. It’s funny, because in a few of my other posts and in my personal conversations with people, I tell people not to take themselves so seriously online and just write about whatever is on their mind. But in application I don’t really do that, because Blogging 101 tells you that you’re supposed to have a niche to blog about. I mean, I have a lot of thoughts on social media and advice for college students, which I guess has become MY “niche” but, then again, it’s also pretty anti-Cheryl to be trapping myself in a narrowly defined box. Isn’t THAT my niche? That I don’t follow the “rules”? That I’m a social media rebel? A certified badass?
Is it stupid to just write whatever’s on your mind on a given day? Should those kinds of thoughts be confined to Twitter, Facebook, etc. or should I take the time to think out and lolCheryl up my thoughts and reviews on here? Granted, tomorrow there will OBVIOUSLY be a blog post about my experience backstage at the Nine Inch Nails concert, but for general, ordinary crap… should it be posted here?
In my mind… the answer is no. I should have a separate blog for movie reviews. A separate blog for music reviews. A separate blog for beer reviews. But Christ, that’s a lot of URLs to buy, you know?
What do you think about finding your blogging niche and sticking to it? Should I, erm, un-stick myself?
Blogging Niche « Brittany’s Blog! says:
[...] Filed under: PR Connections — bcarsonclemson @ 4:41 pm Cheryl Harrison’s post about “blogging into a corner” reminds me about how we have talked about what to include in our blog. I think we have a huge [...]
Nov 17, 2008, 4:42 pmFinding a Niche | I'minlikewithAndy says:
[...] and I’m sticking with it. If anyone has any issues with it, they can take it up with Miss Cheryl Harrison, who has thus far, inspired something rather… [...]
Nov 17, 2008, 6:56 amIke says:
You can do fairly well with an eclectic array of topics, but you have to bring a consistent voice and personal flair.
Which, for what it’s worth, you are well capable of doing.
I’m actually mulling a major relaunch. Still want a main page that catches everything, but want to more clearly delineate major themes of my essays, and offer up different feeds for those who only want particular pieces.
Then again, I’m not interested one bit in having huge pagerank. I write for myself, and the fact I have an audience is affirming but not an end goal.
So Cheryl, you answer the next question: *Why* do you write?
Nov 17, 2008, 2:37 pmRicardo Bueno says:
Well, I really don’t think there’s a right or wrong here. Ultimately you’ll decide to do what’s right for you and it’ll work. But, here’s an experience that I had when I was authoring a business blog of mine…
I kept things pretty standard. I posted weekly market reports and financing information daily. Web inquiries were coming in but not like a gold rush or anything. Then one day, I decided, let’s do a “Just for Fun Friday” thing. I started looking for funny videos on Youtube and other fun stuff around the web. All of a sudden, people started commenting like crazy on the site…more people came out from hiding (the lurkers) and started interacting.
I still kept things strictly business when it came to the overall theme of the site. But once I got just a little off-topic and started having some fun with things, traffic started getting busy. People started having fun.
Anyway, just an experience I had that I thought I’d share…
Nov 17, 2008, 12:31 amjason kenny says:
add more plants and put out food for them
Nov 17, 2008, 1:30 am